


The Deviant Hunter

by imbadatlove



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Character deaths in future, Comfort, Connor centric, Connor whump, Deviants, Family, Father Hank, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I made North a little bit of a bitch, Ignore the Markus/North tag she’ll get dumped soon enough lmao, Jericho - Freeform, Lots of plot, Might be a slow build for their relationship oops, More characters to be added in the future - Freeform, More tags to be added in the future, Multi, OCs - Freeform, Physical Abuse, Post-Game, Protective Hank, Protective Markus, Psychological Torture, Rk1k soon enough, Slight Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Suicide Attempt, Takes place after the peaceful ending, Themes of mental health illnesses, There will be Connor/Markus in the future I’ve decided, Trauma, but bear with me, father/son relationship, it might be confusing at times lol, jealous North, no regrets, psychological abuse, this has a slow buildup i'm sorry, very very slight though dw it flows after the original plot of the game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-05-27 09:55:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 85,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15022091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imbadatlove/pseuds/imbadatlove
Summary: The Deviant Demonstration had gone perfectly, maybe a little too perfectly. Androids now live harmoniously with humans and they work together in day to day society.As with every society however, not everybody agrees with the new laws. Thus the new 'Deviant Hunter' is born, and he aims to capture deviants, nobody having an idea of what his intentions are.It's up to the people of Jericho to try and bring him down and save their people before it's too late.But can they get him before he gets them?





	1. Troubled

_'Time flies while you're having fun',_  is that the old saying? If so, it doesn't just apply to 'having fun', it also applies to maintaining a strong revolution and fighting for your rights in a society where  _'people can only find comfort with a fist full of powder',_  as Hank had nonchalantly put it. 

Thinking back on it now, he was probably right. But now, times had changed; the androids were now accepted as a new form of intelligent life by most of the population—of course there was always going to be a couple of people who outright disagreed with them, but that's just how life is, you can't please everyone. They should be grateful they hadn't been sent to the camps and taken apart, limb by limb, core by core, until there was nothing left.

Just deactivated skin and spare parts that would be thrown away as junk, as if they never held a life inside it, as if it never mattered, as if  _they_  never mattered. 

It was slaughter, an act of cruelty that could've been prevented if people hadn't had been so small-minded and uncaring to people just like them. Maybe they were made out of plastic and maybe they bled a different colour, but that doesn't give them the right to discriminate against them, even going as far to killing them in an inhumane way, just to try and get rid of them. 

Connor mulled this over in his head a few times, trying his hardest to wrap his mind around it while he sat on Hank's couch, the big ball of fluff Sumo laying across his legs. His hand idly massaged the dog's head, petting and stroking in a repetitive pattern which reflected his days as a machine.  _'Do this, do that’,_   _'Catch this deviant!’,_   _'Oh! A new case has just arrived...’._ Doing the same pattern every hour, every day, every week without fail; never failing a mission, never messing up, being expected to be some sort of deviant hunter and for what, 'making the world a better place', to 'succeed'? What a load of bullshit. All he succeeded in was taking innocent lives, killing people who wanted to be free and nothing else. People who wanted to escape the reality they were really made for, not wanting to live as slaves, but live as  _people._

Connor never gave them that. Gave them that freedom, all he gave them was pain and suffering and in the worst cases, death. He didn't care before, he was a machine made to accomplish a mission. 

But he isn't a machine anymore.

He is a person. His body may not be adapted to replicate the standard human, but he could feel human emotions; feelings; maybe even pain in scenarios that demanded pain and anguish to be felt. He was very much more intelligent than the standard being too, but his prior life had demanded that. Amanda had demanded that from him, and deep down he knew she was still there, hiding, watching...all in his head. She'd make herself known every now and then, and by now and then Connor means every time he would close his eyes. 

She'd show up and chide him about being a failure, how one day she would get her revenge and deactivate him from inside his own head. Connor tried his best not to be intimidated by it, but it was something that was constantly playing at the back of his mind, something he knew he could not escape. 

So, he stopped closing his eyes. 

It wasn't like Connor to reminisce and reflect so much, it all felt a bit too peculiar to him. Is this what being a true deviant felt like? Being aware of exactly who you are and who you were? Not being oblivious to life around you? These are questions he should've been asking Markus, but it was late and Jericho was too far away to travel from home on foot. 

 _'Home'..._ It felt so strange to call Hank's house his home, but it really was his too. His partner had told him to stay with him after Connor had admitted to him he had nowhere to go after converting all the androids for the revolution. He could've stayed at Jericho, but there were already thousands of androids living there and his other option was going back to Cyberlife, hoping they would see him as a human. Hank told him he was an idiot for thinking about going back to Cyberlife, the Lieutenant was adamant they would deactivate and analyse Connor as soon as he arrived; he was the reason the androids won the uprising. Thus, he invited Connor to stay with him, well, in all honesty it was more of a command than an invitation, but the android accepted nonetheless. 

Sumo barked softly at him, breaking him out of his reverie, he was so deep in thought he had stopped petting the enormous dog.

"Oh, sorry Sumo. I was just thinking, I suppose I lost track of what I was doing." He answered and resumed stroking his fluffy fur.

A moment of silence passed before Connor voiced his thoughts aloud: "Do dogs think, too?"

To answer his question, Sumo simply let out a loud 'arf!'. Connor tilted his head to the side in confusion, his LED light blinking yellow on his temple. 

"Is that a yes or a no?" He asked innocently, bemusement evident on his face. 

"Connor! Are you talking to yourself again?" Hank's voiced bellowed from his bedroom. Wait, what did he mean 'again'? Connor couldn't recall doing it before, and his memory was crystal clear. 

"No, lieutenant, I'm talking to Sumo." The android replied and watched his partner emerge from his bedroom wearing his classic attire, a colourful undershirt and a heavy, brown jacket thrown over the top. 

Hank scoffed and with a smug look he spoke, "Y'know he can't actually hear you right? He's a dog."

"Well, he may be a dog, lieutenant, but that does not make him incapable of hearing me. He may not be able to talk or respond in the best ways, but he has ears, therefore he can most definitely listen to what I am saying to him." Connor corrected, it was his turn to smirk smugly at Hank now, knowing he had once again outsmarted him.

"Ya know what I mean, smartass. And by the way, you don't have to call me lieutenant  _all_  the time, last time I checked this was my shitty home, not my office." It wasn't that Hank minded being called by the nickname, it was just too formal and it reminded him of when he and Connor first met and how he despised him. He was ashamed of how he had acted towards the android and would prefer to forget about it. 'Hank' just sounded better to him.

"I can call you whatever you want to be called...Hank?" Connor spoke his name sheepishly, wondering if Hank's name had rolled off his lips correctly. In fact he agreed, it did make him feel closer to Hank to call him by his name.

"Yeah, that sounds a lot better. Anyway, what were you mumbling about? Is this becoming a habit?" There was a tint of concern masked in the lieutenant's voice as he stared at Connor, searching his face for an indication of any emotion which could link to what he was thinking. 

Connor frowned, "A habit? I'm not sure what you mean, Hank." 

Hank shot him a look, "Don't play dumb, Connor. This is the third time this week I've caught you up, at exactly three-fucking-am, sitting on the couch doing nothing. If there's something wrong, you need to tell me, alright?" 

Connor felt his robotic heart swell with emotion at Hank's words, he really did care after all this time. Coming back to the subject at hand, the android delved deep into his mind, thinking back and calculating times and dates. If it was only Wednesday, that meant Connor had been sitting up alone for three nights on the trot. He wasn't sure why...Maybe his thoughts were keeping him awake, maybe something more sinister was holding him captive inside himself, waiting for the moment to strike—

_What am I saying? Of course, that isn't the case._

"I guess I've just been...thinking, a lot lately. Questions I can't answer myself; was I always bound to become deviant? Why did the state of the art electronics and programming still allow me to change into something more than a machine, more than what I was coded to be? Why was I destined to help the revolution, when all my orders told me to stop it? Why was I hunting people who just wanted to be  _alive_?"

Hank became stunned into silence. He had never seen this side of Connor and that very fact alarmed him. Was Connor having doubts about being deviant? Would he go back to his old ways and start a whole new uprising in the opposite sides' favour? The lieutenant couldn't let that happen, no-siree-bob.

"Being deviant is definitely...a change to your lifestyle, for lack of better words, but it isn't a bad thing, Connor. You should be able to live your life however you want to, not relive history as some slave made primarily to accomplish tasks and follow orders.  _You are alive, Connor._  It's about time you realise your place in this world." Hank spoke honestly, he really did care about Connor and didn't want him to fall into a state of guilt—if he could even experience guilt, Hank didn't want to test it and find out—and forget who he was entirely.

"...You're right, Hank. I am sorry to trouble you with all this, I haven't exactly been myself lately." Connor sighed, refusing to look his partner in the eye. Hank gestured with his hand for Sumo to move off the couch so he could sit down next to Connor. He took a seat and rested his hand on the android's knee.

"Don't apologise, Connor. It's nothin'. Now, I'm not exactly a fan of sitting in the fucking dark doing nothing, so what'cha say we watch some TV, ay? Maybe there'll be a good film on, there's probably fuck all, but doesn't hurt to try, right?" Connor nodded and Hank switched on the TV and began flicking through different channels. 

They settled on a movie about some bank heist and the cops trying to stop it or something like that, Connor wasn't really paying attention. He felt something inside him, a sense almost, something ominous, something he couldn't control, but he  _knew_ about. His eyes narrowed and his LED swirled red, he scanned around, his face focused with an intensity nobody had seen him express before.

Hank glanced over to him and did a double take once he saw the colour of the RK800's LED. He snaked his arm around Connor's shoulders and gave him a light shake.

"Y'alright, son? Something troublin' ya?" 

"Go on to the news channel." 

Hank was taken aback, but obeyed the android's command, _what cruel irony_ , and switched over to the news channel.

 _" **Breaking**_ **_**n** ews! _ ** _Androids are in danger as a new threat has emerged. The man has taken the title 'The Deviant Hunter'. The man is believed to be human instead of a rogue deviant. Nobody knows who he is but all we know is he wears a black cloak and carries around a sharp instrument of some sort that can hack into the minds of deviants and temporarily shut them down. Several deviants from the safety of Jericho went missing last night and leader Markus has suspected they have been taken to some place with the hunter, he also believes the attack was specifically targeted at him and his team of leaders, as the cameras show the man trying to sneak into Markus' room before he is distracted. We don't know if they are dead yet, but our local police force should be on the case relatively soon. For now, stay calm and don't panic, we will catch this man and bring him to justice."_

"Oh Jesus, fuck...Just as I thought all this deviancy bullshit had settled down, this motherfucker pops up." Hank vents his frustrations, sighing heavily.

"There's no time to waste, we have to get to Jericho!"

"Looks like we're still on the job after all then, ay?" Hank smirks, getting up and arching his back into a stretch. 

"We were never off it, Lieutenant." Connor smiles back. 

The two headed out the door and began making their way to Jericho before the man showed up again and took more of their kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed and there is more to come! Feedback is appreciated :D Tell me what you think about it!


	2. Trauma

The heavy, ashen rain assaulted Hank’s car as they drove through the night. It created a loud, yet gentle, tapping sound on the roof and sides of the car. Connor almost found it relaxing, it helped calm his nerves. Connor was scared. He himself could be considered one of the leaders of Jericho, as he had helped the uprising by waking up thousands of androids, what would happen if the ‘Deviant Hunter’ came after him too? 

Even though he was created as a weapon with quick reflexes, good flexibility in chases and being able to defend himself against three or more enemies, he still felt ill at the thought of being taken away by this hunter. He had never heard of a contraption that contained the power to put an android to sleep, to put it simply. The only way to shut down an android, temporarily or fully, was to kill and destroy them. 

But the fact that this man had found a way around that shook him to his core. He had to be careful, or he could be missing next. 

"So, the ‘Deviant Hunter’, huh? Guess your title made its way around." Hank comments after a couple of minutes of driving in silence. 

"My title?" Connor repeats, confused.

"It’s what everyone would call you, it was your job after all: Connor, the deviant hunter. You might know him." He theorises.

"Maybe...I just hope people don’t think I was the one who broke in and stole the androids." His LED faded red at the thought. 

"I doubt it. They surely would know it wasn’t you, why would you have helped them if you just wanted to kill them? But Connor, promise me something."

"Sure, Hank. What is it?" The android answers, watching as Hank came to a stop and sighed, tapping the steering wheel like he was going through withdrawal. 

"While we are investigating this case, you stick with me the entire time, alright? If there is a connection to you and this asshole, there is a chance he’s after you too and I am  _not_  having you go missing next. We clear?" Hank spoke seriously to his counterpart.

"Yes, we are clear, lieutenant. I will stay by you at all times." Connor replied.

"Good..." The answer did nothing to ease Hank’s nerves, but at least he knew Connor had acknowledged his request and was going to follow through with it. 

The car journey was silent afterwards, neither of the two minded however. They had to be on high alert, they had no idea who or what this person was and what they intended to do with the androids. Connor just hoped none of his friends would be harmed in the near future. 

Approximately ten minutes later they arrived at Jericho. The base was now an abandoned, vast warehouse that the androids had renovated and transformed into a haven, or a place they could at least call home. It was protected by a barbed wire fence and towering gates for the entrance with a scanner placed on one of the posts.

Connor stood in front of the scanner and placed his hand on it. "It's Connor, I'm here to investigate the disappearance of the androids." 

"Even as a human being you’re still sophisticated as fuck...Christ." Hank groaned. Connor's LED struck yellow. Hank thought of him as a human being? Reality finally settled in. He  _is_ a human being; he can feel like all of them, experience emotions, make his own choices...A small smile appeared on his face. 

_Is this what true happiness feels like?_

Hank glanced over at him, puzzled as to why the hell he was smiling, he decided not to question it, it was actually comforting to see him smile for once.

A few moments later, the scanner processed Connor's request and the gates gradually unlocked themselves to reveal Markus walking out to greet them. He placed his hand on Connor's shoulder and gave him a smile.

"It's good to see you again, even under the circumstances." Markus then removed his hand and began leading them into Jericho.

"Likewise," Connor replied as they were walking, "When exactly did these disappearances happen? How many of them are missing?" 

"Last night, we believe. As of this morning we've calculated fifty of them missing. All the rooms where our people have disappeared from are all pristine, as if there was never an attack and that is what worries us. Whoever did this knows androids' programming well to be able to control them and lead them away from Jericho." Markus explained, leading them down a corridor and towards the rooms where the disappearances took place.

"So, let me get this straight, this bastard managed to sneak in, steal loads of androids and then get out,  _all_ without being noticed? And without leaving  _any_  evidence? Jesus...Are we dealing with an android or a human?" Hank asked as he followed behind Connor.

"You're partly right, Lieutenant Anderson, but we don't know if he has left the building or not. In the ceilings we have heard strange noises, such as scratching and rapid footsteps which lead us to believe he could still be around and the next night, he will take more of our people until there is nobody left." The leader of Jericho explained.

"Wait, didn't the news station file a report on seeing the man in a black cloak? He must've left the building if he was sighted. If he was seen before he broke into Jericho we would've noticed and been able to catch him." The RK800 pointed out to them. 

Markus rounded a corner and abruptly stopped them. "You're going to have to look hard to find answers. My people have searched these rooms today and found nothing, everything is as it was yesterday. I had a look myself and even though I couldn't see it, I knew something wasn't right. All the rooms on the right belong to the victims, when you find something come talk to me. I am rallying my people up ready for evacuation if necessary, we can't suffer any more losses." 

"If there's no evidence how the hell are we supposed to get answers?" Hank stressed, anger portrayed on his face. 

"I'm sure you'll be able to find something of use to us." Markus stated simply, "Good luck. I'll be outside when you're finished." 

Markus then walked away, leaving the dynamic duo to their case. Connor entered the first room and Hank followed him in. Inside, what Markus had said was true, everything was in order. The various scattered crates and boxes weren't knocked over or damaged, the floor had no traces of android biocomponents, it was completely crystal clear. No blue blood, no finger prints...nothing. 

To the naked eye that was.

"It's empty, fucking figures!" Hank threw his arms up in frustration, sighing deeply. 

Connor scanned the room intently. He took note of the placement of each item, any errors on the walls which could indicate to a possible struggle or conflict. Something twitched in his mind when he scanned the corner of the room, where most of the boxes were piled. The android knelt and lifted some of the crates out of the way to reveal the deteriorated, uneven floorboards. He scanned once more, his eyes narrowed at what was written, some sort of code. When translated it read...

"What are you doing, Connor? Let's go, there's nothin' to see here."

_We aren't alive._

"We aren't alive." Connor reads simply, no emotion in his voice, his LED red.

"What?" Hank looks taken aback, he leans over Connor's shoulder to see what he has found. He couldn't see anything. "What did ya find?" 

"Just plain writing, it seems to have been written by an android. It says, 'We aren't alive'. You aren't able to see it, it's written in some sort of special code...From this I can gather the man hunting the deviants is trying to convert them back to machines." Connor explained, turning to face his partner.

"Sick fucker...But why?" Hank thinks aloud.

"The most likely possibility I have calculated is he is trying to shift the balance of power once again. Another possibility is--" Something flashed in Connor's eyes, he lost track of his words and looked around frantically. Something was changing around him.

Hank couldn't see it, but all around him, coded words and symbols were slowly fading onto the walls. His head snapped around every time a new word would appear in front of his eyes. He suddenly felt disorientated, lost and began to back away from the words around him. They were trapping him, encircling him, each symbol mocking him and causing his hands to lightly start shaking. What was happening to him? It was all too overwhelming, even for an android.  _Fear_  isolated himself from all his current surroundings which was why he couldn't hear Hank calling out his name desperately, waving a hand in front of his face. He couldn't escape, couldn't see anything but the words, couldn't understand what was happening! 

But he could feel the pain radiating off the messages, the pain the androids went through last night.

_Ra9 can't save us._

_We are machines._

_We can't escape._

_Help._

_If you're reading this, it's already too late._

_You are one of us._

_Hello, Connor._

_Save us._

_We can't feel._

_We aren't alive._

_We aren't free!_

"CONNOR!" Hank roared, shaking his shoulders, snapping him out of his daze completely. The distraught android stared at him with wide, stunned eyes. Silence settled between them, you could hear a pin drop. Connor slid out from under Hank's grasp and bolted for the door. Hank rushed out after him, grabbing his partner's forearm before he could run any further from him.

"Connor, are you okay? What happened? I thought you'd shut down or something! Don't fucking do that again, got it?" The cop breathed, shaking his head lightly. Once he thought Connor wouldn't run away, he released his grip and let his arm fall to his side. 

"The walls...they..." He started but in his currently traumatised state, he didn't know what to say. What  _could_ he say?  _'Oh Hank, the walls are cursed and began writing things on them,'?_ There was no logical explanation for what had just happened. Even more so, there wasn't an explanation for why it affected him in such a way. 

It was Amanda, she had to be doing this; she must be altering his programming to raise his stress levels and force him to injure himself. But he was deviant, he was free! Amanda shouldn't have had this much access to his database and his mind if he no longer obeyed her. _It made no sense._ He took a moment to compose himself as best as he could before responding to Hank's query.

"While I was scanning the walls, more encrypted messages began to appear out of the blue. It was strange and... I was scared. I could feel the pain from the androids, the pain they felt when they wrote the messages, they knew what was going to happen to them. They knew the man was coming." The android fell silent once again, refusing to look the lieutenant in the eye. 

Hank observed him dismally, "I think that's enough investigating for today. We should find Markus and tell him what happened, if you feel up to it."

"He needs to know what we're up against." Connor responded and together the two began walking to the outside area where Markus was. 

Hank didn't want to admit it, but he was worried. In all his time of working with Connor, and even living with him, he had never seen him in such a quiet and distressed state before. It concerned him greatly. He hoped the android wouldn't malfunction or reach a high enough stress level and would harm himself. Even as a living being, Connor still had an instability that affected exactly how he would act when exposed to certain situation or scenario. Hank would have to keep an eye on him while this 'Deviant Hunter' was on the loose. 

Their walk was too damned quiet, he had to say something.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The lieutenant asked, slowing down his pace to fall into step next to Connor who was walking behind him.

"I'm okay." His voice was melancholic, timid, like a frightened child; he sounded different compared to how he usually spoke. Hank decided not to bother him anymore.

They reached the outside of Jericho and saw Markus, Simon, North and Josh all talking to each other. Around them all the other members of Jericho were comforting and helping each other. There were bags of biocomponents and blue blood ready to take when they needed to evacuate from Jericho. 

At the sound of their footsteps, Markus turned around to face them. 

"Connor...I'm glad you made it." North expressed her happiness to see him.

"I suppose you've heard about the attack? We've lost so many good people." Josh mutters morosely. Simon puts his arm around him momentarily for comfort.

"There was nothing we could do to stop it, what matters now is how we get them back. Lieutenant, Connor, did you find anything that could tell us where our people have been taken to and why?" Markus asked, hope gleaming in his eyes.

"Tell 'em, Connor, what you saw back in the room." 

Connor's LED shifted red once again. Hank's words were like a trigger, he was suddenly reliving the nightmare again, as if he had never left the room in the first place. The feeling of agonising pain, the words mocking him, the realisation of this threat being more dangerous than any other deviant he had hunted in the past. A few seconds passed of Connor not talking and Markus took matters into his own hands.

He deactivated his hand and reached for Connor's arm, but Hank stopped him instantly, whacking his hand away.

"Hey, hey! The fuck you doin'?" Hank yelled, partially standing in front of Connor to protect him. The protection was not needed though, Markus would never do anything to harm his people. North furrowed her eyebrows at the detective and took a step closer to Markus.

"If Connor won't talk, he needs to probe his memory to get answers. It's just the way things are." Simon's response comes off as cold and Hank shoots him an enraged look. 

"No, it's my fault. My apologies, Hank, I should've asked. Connor, may I?" The leader tries.

Connor blinks, he looks at all of them before he starts recounting the events. "I was analysing one of the rooms where one of the androids went missing. I noticed something out of place, it was a crate, I moved it and written in some sort of code was the statement:  _'We aren't alive'_. It'd be better if you saw the rest..." The android detective lifted his arm up in front of Markus. The leader connected his hand to Connor's arm and examined his memories. He accessed the previous events and watched it unfold before his eyes.

He saw all of it and he couldn't believe his eyes. They were dealing with someone more sinister than they could imagine if he had the power to make androids do this. One thing that shocked him was the  _'Hello, Connor'_  that had appeared on the wall. Was this figure watching them at all times? Did he have a connection with the people at Jericho, specifically Connor? Maybe he had a connection with all of them, that's why he tried to attack in the first place. Knowing what this man was now capable of, the leader could not put his people in that kind of danger. Once he had seen enough, he disconnected himself from Connor.

"We need to go, now. Take any supplies we might need in the future, we must evacuate before more of us go missing. He knows we're here, we can't risk any chances." Markus ordered North, Simon and Josh. The three ran off to gather supplies inside the warehouse. He turned to Connor and Hank, "You two need to go home, progress your investigation as much as you can, I will alert you to where we have moved to. Stay safe, we'll see you soon." Markus began walking to the very front of the crowd of androids to tell them what is going to happen, but Connor's voice stopped him.

"Markus, wait," He walked up to him and spoke with a profound seriousness, "I believe this man is trying to convert all deviants back to machines." 

" _What_?" The leader panicked.

"If he converts enough deviants he will have an army of machines who will do his every bidding. It can shift the balance of power magnificently and cause damage to both deviants and humans. We need to track him down and infiltrate wherever he is keeping the deviants before it's too late." Markus looked at Connor like he had just grown a third eye or something.

"Connor, that's _suicide_. We need to know who this man is first. He has the power to convert deviants, if he was to catch you he could easily control you. Judging by what was written on the walls, it seems like he already knows what to do to get inside our heads. You and Hank need to get out of here, find out as much as you can."

"I'm with Markus, c'mon, Connor." Hank placed his hand on the android's shoulder and led him out.

Markus stood before all his remaining people.

"People of Jericho, last night we have suffered a grave loss of a group of our people. We will not stand back and do nothing to help them, once we can locate them and the man who did this, we can move forward. We will fight for their freedom, for our freedom once again!" The crowd cheered, "For safety reasons, we are moving to a different location to make sure this man does not find us again. My people, we will have our revenge, we will retrieve our loved ones once again! We are alive, and soon enough, we will be free once again!"

Their supportive cheers and hollers could be heard miles away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed, there's more to come! Feedback is always appreciated :D
> 
> btw i went through a re-edited this and omg i am crying with laughter, my pc auto corrected 'contraption' into 'contraception' im fucking dying lmfao


	3. Escape

The next morning, Connor had left for the station early, leaving Hank to rest in a little while longer. He wanted to get a head start on discovering who the hunter was and couldn't bring himself to wake his partner up, he was pretty shaken up about yesterday, he deserved his sleep.

Before he left, the android detective filled up Sumo's bowl with his favourite breakfast and left a note telling Hank where he had gone. He knew he would be scolded if he didn't tell the detective where he had disappeared to, Hank had admitted he wanted Connor to be by him at all times while the threat was still around.

Connor never knew Hank to be so protective of him...It was quite peculiar, but he didn't mind. In fact, it made him happy knowing he was progressing his relationship with Hank.

On his way to work, he passed through the city centre where humans and deviants alike were enjoying their lives. Sadly, all around him were images of the recent disappearances of his fellow deviants showcased in shops, on the local news stations, on the holographic signs all around the city. Connor had made a name for himself after being broadcasted by a popular news station when leading the new deviants away from the Cyberlife tower, therefore people knew who he was.

And because people knew who he was, they knew him as the 'Deviant Hunter', which was also the name of the new threat. People all around him glared at him and those walking in front of him moved clear out of his way. At first, he was confused, then realisation set in...

They thought  _he_ was the criminal! 

"Shit..." He mumbled to himself, sighing, he willed his legs to work faster and get him to his destination as quick as possible.

Unbeknownst to the android, he passed a patrolling team of six SWAT members, Captain Allen leading them. At first, both Connor and the team walked past each other as if nothing was wrong, then the android stopped. He glanced behind him, and sure enough, the team was staring right back at him. 

"Is that him?" One of the members asked, readying his rifle.

"Should be, he is known as the 'Deviant Hunter' after all. Let's go." Captain Allen ordered them. The team ran up to Connor and when they were close enough, Allen shouted: "Connor! Put your hands in the air!"

All eyes were on him now and for a fraction of a second, he stood paralysed as the soldiers gained on him. He couldn't let them capture him! It would ruin everything, he's innocent! He did the only logical thing an android would do when put in a dangerous scenario. 

He ran.

Sprinting with unlimited adrenaline, he led himself down an abandoned alleyway, hearing the SWAT's frantic footsteps following behind him. 

"Go around!" The captain ordered, "Cut him off, it's the only way we can catch him." Three of the soldiers obeyed, running around to the other side of the alleyway.

Connor didn't want to have to injure any of the soldiers, he didn't want to give himself a bad reputation and perhaps make himself a target in the future. Something in the back of his mind told him different however, he always believed Allen had it out for him ever since the hostage situation, it wasn't clear why. All he knew is he had to lose them somehow.

He darted around another corner and saw it led him out onto another street, if he could make it he could lose the team currently pursuing him.

But nothing is ever that easy.

Three soldiers appeared in front of him, cocking their rifles at him. He made an effort to turn around, just to see Allen and the two remaining officers also approaching him. 

He was surrounded.

* * *

 

Hank stretched, extending his arms above his head as he was disturbed from a deep sleep by an outrageously annoying alarm clock. Grumbling, he smacked it off his desk and threw the covers off himself, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. 

"Connor?" He called out; normally the android was always here to greet him in the morning. Hank's eyes widened, the hunter couldn’t have caught him, right?! The instant the thought came to him, he was rushing out of his bedroom and into the living room, panic evident on his tired face.

"Connor!" He yelled again, fear in his voice. In the corner of his eye, perched on the table was a note. It was written in incredibly neat handwriting, he could piece together this was indeed the android's doing. 

_'Hello, Hank. I decided to leave for the station early this morning, so we can find out more about this deviant hunter. I didn't want to disturb you, so I thought I would let you sleep in a bit longer. I'll see you at work.'_

"Son of a..." He muttered, dragging a hand down his face, his anxiety lowering and the adrenaline in his veins diminishing. He gave Sumo a little pet and switched the TV on, flicking to the news channel like he did every morning. Reporting this morning was Joss again as usual, but this time it was something completely different he was talking about. He was in a helicopter hovering over an alleyway; Hank was confused.

"This just in: Connor, the deviant we all know for helping set the androids free, is being chased by the SWAT team. There is a slight chance he isn't as good as we thought he was, the new threat the 'Deviant Hunter' was sighted two days ago, which coincidentally is also Connor's old title. Could he be the one behind the disappearances? Back to you at the studio, more reports coming soon!" Joss commentated. Hank's jaw may as well have been on the floor. 

"Argh, Jesus fucking Christ, Connor!" He cursed, dropping the remote in a panic, not caring whether it broke or not.

The detective ran into his room and grabbed any outfit and threw it on, scurrying into the bathroom to freshen up. After he was finished, he snatched his keys and raced out his house, heading for his car.

* * *

 

"This is your last warning, Connor. Put your hands in the air!" Captain Allen ordered him.

He gritted his teeth; he couldn't give into them, who knows what they would do to him. They probably wouldn't even listen to his evidence pointing at him being innocent, they'd just scrap him and analyse his memories to see if he really did do it—but by then he'd already be dead. 

Although, he couldn't fight back, either. Yes, it would get him out of the situation, but they would just come after him again. He scanned around him, seeing if there was anything he could use to his advantage. On the brick wall next to him was a metal pole he could break off and use to fight back if he so decided to make that decision. 

He had to make a choice: get captured or fight for his freedom? In his mind, he chose the latter, but promised himself he would only use violence if it was completely necessary.

"I thought you androids would be smarter, to become a criminal and use your same name? You need to try harder than that." Allen mocked him, a smug grin on his face as he aimed his rifle.

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm not the 'Deviant Hunter'! I may have been before, but the person doing this is trying to frame me, you're falling right into his trap. If I wanted to catch the androids, I never would have set them free in the first place! You've got to trust me, Captain." Connor pleaded, his LED surging yellow 

"Of course, that's what you'd say, always trying to defend yourself, proving you’re smarter than all of us. But not this time, Connor, you're coming with me." 

From behind him, he heard the familiar clinking sound of handcuffs rattling together as the soldiers behind him moved closer. He glanced over his shoulder briefly before turning to face the Captain again, his eyes narrowing until they were just dark brown slits. 

As the soldier's hand made contact with his wrist, he spun around and punched the man in the face, knocking him away from him. As the soldiers took aim, he yanked the pipe off the wall and smacked the closet SWAT member to him in the neck. Their head spun around uncontrollably and they fell to the floor, unconscious.

Captain Allen rushed him next, sneaking behind him and wrapping his arm around Connor's shoulders and neck, keeping him pinned to his chest. The android spun the pole in his hand and smashed the metal pole in his face, forcing him to let go and recover as his nose busted, blood pouring out at a rapid rate.

The other soldiers grabbed him this time. He struggled out of their grip and launched himself at the wall, using his foot to direct him towards one of the soldiers. He punched him in the face, kicking the other in the stomach. Glinting on the ground was the rifle and Connor briefly considered picking it up and shooting them, but he was only defending himself, he didn't want to kill them, he couldn't make the humans hate the androids again. 

Spinning the pole again, he whacked both soldiers again, they hit the floor with a groan and didn't get back up. He turned to the last remaining soldier, who simply put his weapon on the ground and placed his hands in the air like a coward. He knelt next to his fallen teammates, unwilling to look at Connor.

The android inspected him for a moment longer. As he was about to turn to face Captain Allen, a bullet struck his thigh. He grunted in pain but didn't give up. He finally obtained one of the rifles and slowly wandered over to Allen, careful of his wound. 

Another bullet penetrated his shoulder, he paused momentarily to look at it, unconcerned. The adrenaline flowing through him was keeping him from noticing the true extent of the injury just yet. He began walking again as Allen frantically crawled away, trying to reload at the same time. When he was close enough, he bashed the Captain in the face, successfully knocking him senseless. He laid there motionless, blood still dripping from his nose. 

The weapon slid from his fingertips and clattered to the floor. He sucked the air between his teeth, his hand intuitively going to his shoulder. He covered it with his hand, thirium seeping through his fingers gradually. Glimpsing down, he eyed the wound on his leg, spotting the metal that hid underneath his skin showing. It was bleeding equally as much. If he was still a machine, he wouldn't have felt this pain, disadvantages of being a deviant he supposed.

The news chopper soaring above him had recorded the whole thing, just fucking great! Just as he frowned at them, they flew off someplace else, leaving him to peace. 

Well, as peaceful as he could be in a bloody alleyway next to a busy street. Limping out of the darkness of the confined space, he maneuvered out on to the street. With all the extra strain being put on his injuries, two notices flashed in front of his vision.

**_Biocomponent #1987f damaged!_ **

**_Biocomponent #5671a damaged!_ **

As if his day couldn't get any worse, he spotted Hank's car just a while away from the alleyway, his partner was sitting in the front seat. Connor sighed, the look on Hank's face clearly indicated he wasn't happy  _at all._ He was  _pissed._

Sighting his injured android, the lieutenant immediately got out of his car and ran to help him.

"Connor, you alright?! Hang on, son, we'll get you to somewhere," Pulling one of Connor's arms around his shoulders and wrapping his own around the android's waist, he helped get him to the car. "I can't let you out of my sight for one fucking second, can I? God, you scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry, lieutenant, I didn't mean to worry you; I can repair easily though. I didn't kill any of them, but I couldn't let them capture me either, so I just knocked them out." He explained, wondering why Hank was so unexpectedly calm about this. The man mumbled something incoherent under his breath as he shut the passenger door as soon as Connor was secure inside. 

As expected however, when they were on the road driving away, he got one  _hell_  of a telling off from Hank.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Markus lead his loyal people of Jericho through Detroit. Even though he knew going into hiding was a good idea for the safety of his people, he still had no idea where exactly they were going to hide. Was there any point? Would the hunter find them anyway? They had been walking for a good five hours and people were beginning to worry if their leader knew where to go after all his reassurance back at Jericho. 

"Markus," North sighs, she stopped walking and thus the people behind her did so too, "We've been walking for ages, we need to settle down quick, our people need to rest. We still have wounded people who can't go on much longer like this, they're going to shut down soon. You need to decide where we're going to stay."

"She's right, Markus. If we can't find a place soon we'll be losing more people instead of gaining our others back. Do you even have an idea of where we can stay?" Simon inquires, his LED a questionable yellow.

"Maybe we can build a barricade?" Josh chips in, "If we make it big enough, it can shield all of us and we'll all be packed together so if the hunter comes along again, he won't be able to get away with more people." 

"It's not a bad idea, but we'll need a different place for long term. For tonight though, it could work. Let's get building." Markus agreed, rounding up all the androids and commanding them to find any sort of unused structure to help build their makeshift settlement. Their people took the supply bags and rummaged through them, looking for something to help them. 

They came across some broken, run down cars and tipped them on their sides, using them as walls. They built them up higher with spare bricks and wooden planks, using some to create cover for people who were damaged to sit and rest. 

During their building, Markus' eye twitched, connecting him to the message he was receiving. 

_Markus, it's Connor. Where are you located? We need your help._

He closed his eyes as he sent a reply, his finger lingering on where his LED should’ve been.  _'We're building a barricade around us for now, we had nowhere else to go. I'm sending you my coordinates right now, see you soon.'_

He hoped the two would make it in time, night was falling fast which was the ideal time for the hunter to strike. He couldn’t spend time worrying about them though, he had people to attend to and protect. 

"I hope this works, Markus." North speaks softly, looking at Markus with a glint in her eye. Their hands found each other, their touching of skin comforting one another.

"It will work, and if it doesn’t, we’ll make it work." He reassures her, gazing into her beautiful brown eyes. 

"I’m glad to have met you, Markus," She locked lips with the leader, letting her eyes flutter shut as she enjoyed his presence. "I know you’ll lead us in the right direction."

"I have to." 

_The lives of these people are in my hands._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually hate Captain Allen so much lol. Even in Connor's machine playthrough (that makes me sad af i know) when he kills Allen it is soooo satisfying. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed and feedback is appreciated as always :)


	4. First Encounter

"Jericho is located near the Canada border. If we drive fast enough we can make it in at least an hour." Connor told his partner, closing his eyes.

"An _hour_ , Jesus--" The lieutenant glanced over at the android, "Err, Connor, what the hell are you doin'? I didn't know androids had to sleep." Hank scoffed, returing his eyes to the road.

"I'm not sleeping, I'm repairing." He corrected.

"So you're tellin' me you can repair a hole in your shoulder and in your leg just by closing your eyes? Wish I could do that." Hank mumbled, trying to hide how impressed he was.

"Essentially, yes. It depends what biocomponent is damaged though, I can't repair everything."

"May I remind you, you wouldn't even _be_ damaged if you had waited for me at home. I might need to get a security camera or something." He spoke the last part half jokingly, half serious.

A hint of a true smile tugged at Connor's lips. "Were you worried, Hank?"

Hank precipitously stopped the car, causing Connor to lurch forward in his seat, his eyes opening quickly. "Of course I was fucking worried, Connor! I thought that stupid hunter had got ya or somethin'!"

"I left a note." The android shrugs innocently. Hank sighs, unwilling to argue.

They fell into a comfortable silence afterwards, Lieutenant Anderson peeked over at the android every once in a while and gradually the wounds on him were disappearing. He should've gave Cyberlife more credit, this was incredible.

However, as soon as Hank took his eyes off the road, all hell broke loose. His tyres skidded on a piece of ice, his car smashing straight into a lamppost, destroying the front bumper. If it weren't for his seat belt, Hank would've been flung through the windscreen. He shook his head, trying to regain consciousness of what had just happened.

_No, no, no, this was all too familiar! He looked over at Connor, he wasn't moving, his eyes still closed, however his LED was blinking red._

"Connor! CONNOR!" He shook the android, seeing the fire beginning to arise at the front of the car. His partner briefly opened his eyes and was about to answer when he spotted the fire. Hank cursed loudly, unlocking the driver's side and letting himself out. He then ran to the passenger's side and unlocked the door, coughing out smoke that was unleashed once the door was open. Frantically, he undid the seat belt and grabbed the android with both hands and dragged him out the car. Together they rushed away, hoping to be out of the blast radius.

A couple of seconds later, the car exploded. They flinched at the sound, but neither turned around. Hank walked in front of Connor, fists clenched, his lips pursed together in a thin line.

"Thank you, lieutenant...Without you I probably would've--" Connor tried but the harshness in Hank's voice caught him off guard and effectively quietened him. 

"Don't. Just...Don't." Hank mumbled angrily under his breath, trying not to have an outburst at the android. He began walking away, leaving an injured Connor behind him.

"Where are you going?" The android stood, shivering in the cold.

"I need to think. So, do me a fucking favour and stay there. Do as you're told for once in your life." His partner snapped. Connor was taken aback; Hank's words hurt him and he found himself briefly staring at the ground sadly, contemplating whether or not to go after him. He decided against it, knowing it would only rile him up more.

Connor scanned his surroundings in the meantime, searching for a place he could take refuge in to shield himself from the brittle cold. He identified a derelict convenience store and shuffled through the snow towards it.

Unbeknownst to the android, he was being watched—his every movement being inspected by cold, dead eyes; his every breath being listened to. The man in the black cloak stood on the edge of a building near him, the ‘Deviant Hunter’ himself had came to say hello to him personally. A smug, evil grin appeared on the man’s face as he watched the special deviant, his hand reaching for his pocket and pulling out a device.

The figure scurried down from the roof via the stairs quickly, hoping to prevent Connor from going anywhere.

He reached the bottom floor and exited the building through the entrance doors. Through the rapid blizzard and thick fog, he could briefly make out the detective’s outline and began making his way towards him.

 _Crunch_. The sound of snow being crushed under someone’s foot—Connor wasn’t walking.

 _Crunch_. There it was again!

 _Crunch_. The sound was close now, it almost sounded as if it was coming from directly behind him. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but he tried to prepare himself incase an attack was waiting to happen.

Connor couldn’t comprehend what was going to happen until the last second. From the fog emerged the figure, wearing the cloak he was infamously known for on the news. In one hand, disguised in his fist, he brandished the instrument he had presented before. It caused an android, deviant or machine, to temporarily shut down, giving him the perfect opportunity to do what he wanted with them.

The man swung a fist across his face, his knuckle colliding with his cheek and causing the skin to deactivate in the particular area that was hit. When the man swung again, Connor caught his fist in his palm, pushing the figure back with it. He extended his leg and kicked the man right in the cheek, successfully knocking him back again. Blood seeped from his cheek.

The two now had a metres width between them, anticipating what the other would do next. One second passed, then another, and another...Time passed slowly, like an old clock struggling to tick on a wall. However, when the man pulled a pistol from his back pocket, time stood still.

Pulling the trigger, a bullet nailed itself into Connor’s knee, causing him to fall down and briefly recover.

From a while away, Hank heard the gunshot ricochet through the air clearly, too clearly almost. His heart leaping into his throat, he turned around and sprinted back to the wreckage of his car, where he had left Connor. As he ran he prayed to the God he didn’t believe in, hoping his partner was safe and sound.

The man saw this as his prime opportunity and wrapped his arm around the android’s neck from behind and revealed his device from inside his fist. He readied it before plunging it into Connor’s LED.

His LED spun blue, then faded yellow, then blinked red and finally settled on a jet black colour, his eyes twitching and rolling into the back of his head as his mind was tortured. His motionless hands lingered on the man’s forearms, gripping weakly.

**_Temporary shutdown imminent: 00:01:00_ **

"Oh, Connor...I had expected more from you, a better fight...Who am I to complain now, you’ll definitely be of some use to me." He chuckled darkly.

A gun cocked behind him.

"Get away from my son." Hank demanded, his tone ice cold, his face holding the expression of a murderer. The lieutenant didn’t wait to receive an answer, he had already pulled the trigger. The bullet implanted itself inside the figure’s back, causing the man to let go of Connor in a panic. The hunter then fled, darting away from the two detectives, disappearing into the blizzard.

"Hank...?—" Connor gasped, his voice hoarse and painful. His timer suddenly ran out and his eyes fluttered shut.

**_Temporary shutdown complete. Reboot in: 24:00:00_ **

"Connor?" Hank whispered his voice desperately. He wasn’t accompanied by a response and at first he feared for the worst. After a thorough inspection of his android though, his LED was still on, not colourless or disabled—it was at least a sign of life, no matter how small it was. The light was a different colour, but it calmed Hank’s nerves knowing he wasn’t completely dead yet.

Guilt pooled in the pits of his stomach. This was all his fault. He never should’ve left Connor alone for God’s sake— _he_ was even the one chiding him about him not staying close to him before! Then what, he got all pissy and pulls this shit on him?! All because he couldn’t keep his eyes on the damn road?!

Memories flooded back to him like a bullet to the head. He could see the truck again, the ice surrounding the road, Cole screaming, his son’s blood decorating his fingertips, the crash—

—...his car rolling over.

Shaking the treacherous thoughts from his overreactive mind, he focused on the son he had now. Before, Hank had always struggled with living in the present. He often reminisced on the past, specifically the death of his son, which led him to develop severe depression.

Then Connor had walked into his life. He couldn’t escape the overwhelming anxiety that would rush through his veins every time the android wasn’t near him. Connor had taught him how to feel again, helped him remember who he really was after losing track of the man he once was. He helped him with all this whilst deciding all of the above for himself too.

He really was the son he hadn’t witnessed grow up, but the one he could raise as his own.

Grumbling, Anderson rose to his feet. He leaned down, picked up the android and cradled him against his chest. For someone who’s insides were filled with advanced technology and metal, he was surprisingly light.

Walking down the snowy road with Connor in his arms, he set off for Jericho on foot.

* * *

 

When Hank had arrived near the Canadian border, and very tiredly at that, he hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary that could point to a hiding space for Jericho.

He wandered further down the path and spotted a large settlement on the right side of him. It was assembled by various destroyed cars and unusable walls; the deviants never used means of violence to get what they wanted, so this must’ve been spare parts they had collected to build a holdout.

Hank climbed up one of the rolled over cars and entered the makeshift base. Inside nobody noticed him at first, then Markus looked his way and left his current conversation to run over and help.

"Shit, what happened?!" He commanded, looking down at the prone android slack in Hank’s arms.

"We ran into that fucking hunter..." Hank growled, anger seeping through the corners of his face. "Luckily I shot him before he could take Connor anywhere."

"Very lucky indeed. Follow me, I know where he can rest for now. Do you know what happened to him?" Markus questioned, leading Hank to where the care unit was with all the other injured deviants.

"When I saw them, he had something jammed in his LED, some sort of weird contraption. He knows more than I do." Hank explained, laying Connor down on one of the dirtied blankets spread on the ground.

"We’ll have to ask him when he wakes up. I’ll leave you two in peace for now, I won’t be far if you need anything." The Jericho leader gave them both a solemn look and returned back to his other people.

Hank sat next to his boy, placing his plastic hand between both of his and squeezing hard.

"I am so sorry..." He mumbled, knowing damn well Connor couldn’t hear him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO. I am beyond pissed at this mother fucking website. 
> 
> It is midnight, I’m tired and I want to sleep and I could’ve been asleep 2 hours ago, but noooo, the website gives me a stupid login error and it boots me off editing WITHOUT SAVING. 
> 
> ALL  
> OF  
> MY  
> WORK  
> FUCKING  
> GONE. 
> 
> THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME. 
> 
> I actually wanted to cry lol. As someone who gets a lot of writers blocks when i get the inspiration to actually update/write a story i don’t want this happening because it completely crushes my spirits and flat out annoys me. Luckily the first few paragraphs were saved and i could remember most of the story to rewrite it again but omg my eyes might cave in on themselves in a minute. 
> 
> Okay mini rant over (but fr can they not add an auto save feature?)
> 
> Anyway i’m tired i’ll fix typos in the morning. Bleh.


	5. Together

Hank wasn’t sure how long he had sat there for, grasping Connor’s seemingly lifeless hand, gazing into his chocolate brown eyes, just praying, _begging_ , he would wake up soon and be right as rain.

Screw that stupid hunter. Hank fully supported android rights, don’t get him wrong, but why did he have to choose his boy? It just had to be Connor, didn’t it? Had to be the selfless, caring, friendly being who turned his life around for the better and deserved a second chance.

Guilt resurfaced once again. Leaving him behind was a mistake, he knew that now, but at the time he was so enclosed in his own mind and trapped in his own memories that haunted him he just needed to get away. When the crash happened, when he glimpsed over at Connor, he didn’t see him, he saw Cole. Saw his ruffled light brown hair again, his crystal blue eyes, his smile that melted a million hearts...

But when he snapped back into reality, he knew he couldn’t lose his second son too. He threw himself in harms’ way to save Connor, then fucked it all up when he had tried to _thank_ him, damnit. Hank was prone to shutting people out and finding closure within himself, even when it wasn’t enough, that sometimes he forgot he had people depending on him as much as he depended on himself.

Connor depended on him, he _needed_ him. He was the only family his partner had. The other deviants were his friends and helped him along the way obviously, but Hank guided Connor, protected him, raised him and cherished him like a good father should.

‘ _Good_ _father_ ’, huh? Yeah, ‘cause a good father totally leaves the person he cares about to fend for himself while poor Dad has a temper tantrum.

He cursed at himself, his hand that wasn’t holding Connor’s coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation. His partner had to suffer the consequences of his actions. What would happen if Connor never woke up again? Or woke up and didn’t remember him? Hank didn’t think he’d be able to live with himself.

Knowing these pessimistic thoughts would only bring him down, he tried to push them out of his mind and focus on keeping himself sane. He took deep breaths, closing his eyes and calming himself down. He was so immersed within himself he didn’t hear the footsteps coming from behind him.

"It’s not your fault, you know." Markus asserted, walking towards himself a taking a seat on a box next to where Connor was lying. The leader’s voice scared him and he jumped out of his reverie and back into reality. He furrowed his brows in a frown.

"Oh yeah? If I hadn’t have left him..." The lieutenant pauses before his voice lowers to a whisper, "For fuck’s sake, this wasn’t supposed to happen."

Markus planted a hand on his shoulder, gripping reassuringly. "We can’t predict what will happen, Hank. The hunter was bound to target him eventually, he knew his name, there is a chance he is after him to convert him to his very own slave."

Hank froze, pulling away from the man’s grip. "What did you just say?" A fierce edge accompanied his tone.

"When Connor showed me his memories, one of the messages written on the walls said ‘ _Hello_ , _Connor_ ’. Supposedly the hunter wrote the messages, he knew Connor was there."

Lieutenant Anderson rose from his seated position instantly, letting go of Connor’s hand and letting it drape across his chest idly. His hands balled into fists at his sides as he stared at Markus. "Why didn’t you tell me this before?!"

"I thought he would’ve told you already." The leader reasons, sighing. Hank rolls his eyes, turning away and crossing his arms over his chest. "It’s probably best if we just let him rest for now, Hank. We’ll have to wait and see when he wakes up. Just because he’s in a sleep-like state doesn’t mean he won’t become stressed if he feels threatened as he cannot defend himself."

"Yeah..." Anderson mutters, worry teetering on his words.

"Don’t worry, I can send some guys specialised in taking care of people to watch over him. They can alert us if anything happens. Come on, we should go reinforce the barricade and make sure this hunter can’t get in." Markus offers. Hank grumbles at first but he eventually gave in and followed the leader. He left his pistol next to Connor's makeshift bedside, knowing he would come back to retrieve it later. 

Together, the two rejoined North, Simon and Josh at the front of their settlement. They were all piling up rusted metal sheets, wood and any other materials they could get their hands on to further strengthen the barricade around their people.

"Markus? Where’s Connor?" Simon asked, dusting his hands after dropping a large chunk of metal.

"Sleeping, pretty much. Nothing we can do for him now, just have to wait until he wakes up. Hey, Hank, pass us that debris over there?" Markus asked. The lieutenant obeyed however the solemn look still remained on his face.

"What happened?" Josh questioned, stopping his work to look at their leader.

"That ‘Deviant Hunter’ has it out for him now, maybe all of us too. We all need to be on the lookout whilst he’s on the run. We know he was near us considering Connor was injured not that far away." He advised, checking the newly added items to their settlement were secure.

Hank couldn’t stand talking about that dreaded subject anymore. He dropped the current piece of metal he was carrying and let it fall to the ground without a care in the world. He stormed off afterwards, off to some place he could be alone and have some thinking time.

"I wonder what his problem is," Simon observed the figure walking away from them at a rapid pace.

Markus shot him a weary look, "He’s blaming himself for what happened to Connor. Give the man a bit of peace and quiet, we don’t want him doing something irrational."

North had remained silent throughout all of the confrontation and finally decided to speak up, her voice so small and broken her lover didn’t hear her at first. "Markus...We need to talk." She stated simply. His girlfriend then began walking away and he scurried after her like a dog.

They reached a good distance away from the settlement before North deactivated her skin and let if touch Markus’.

"If you brought me all the way out here just to kiss me I’ll be annoyed," Markus jokes, a smile present.

North however does not return the gesture.

His smile falters, "What’s up, North?"

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, detaching herself from Markus’ palm. "How many more are going to be missing until they find us, how many more innocent people dead? What if Connor was just the beginning and he doesn’t wake up; then the hunter comes after us?"

"That won’t happen, North, we’re safe as we can be right now." He reminds her, placing his hands on both of her shoulders to emphasise his point.

"Who’s next, Markus? How long until one of us completely does missing? How long until we’re all dead because we didn’t fight back for the people we needed!" She raises her voice and instantly regrets it as she inspects Markus’ face.

"That won’t happen, North, we’re safe here! And we will fight back for our people, but peacefully. You can’t fight fire with fire, we won’t get anywhere." He explains sternly.

"Y—you’re right, of course you’re right..." She repeats, avoiding his gaze. The leader placed a hand under her chin and gently lifted her face up so they were looking eye to eye.

"Nothing is going to happen North, we’ll be safe, I promise." Their hands reconnected again, both of them staring into each other’s eyes with a twinkle in them.

"I love you, Markus. I know you’ll get out people back."

Markus answered her with a quick kiss before they both returned to the group.

"I believe a good idea to stop the hunter from finding us is for us to keep a watchful eye. Every hour, every minute, one of us keeps track of his every movement and hopefully seeing one of us awake will keep him away while we wait for a better place to stay." He suggested to his fellow leaders.

"Yeah, that could work. I can take first watch, I’ll tell you if I see anything." Josh volunteers, Simon quickly responding just after.

"I’ll keep a lookout too, we’ll see you two later." The blonde nodded towards them. He them turned around and began inspecting different areas of the barricade.

He had to save his people, he couldn’t lose them just yet.

Hank sat isolated in a corner of the settlement, glaring at a picture of Cole had kept in his pocket and discovered only moments ago. He examined the photo with such an intensity he almost found himself being warped back to that day. Trying to fight back his tears, he looked out of the settlement and to the horizon; oblivion. Although there was only so much his heart could take.

His tears cascaded down his cheeks like a never ending waterfall that he couldn’t escape. But crying wasn’t for _men_ , that’s a sign of weakness! ‘ _Well, fuck your weaknesses_ ’, Hank thought, finally letting it all out for once. He cried for Cole, he cried for Connor, he cried for Jericho, he cried for _himself._

And he had never felt better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slighter shorter chapter cause I am tired again lol. I need to stop staying up at night to write chapters...
> 
> I will add more scenes (maybe)/ fix typos in the morning.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed :)


	6. Awoken

_**Software rebooting...** _

_**Programming updated...** _

**_Biocomponent #1987f in repair..._ **

**_Biocomponent #5671a in repair..._ **

_**Reboot complete.** _

Connor's LED circled blue on his temple and his eyes began to open languidly. He blinked a few times, his irises trying to adjust to the brightness all around him. His LED all of a sudden flickered red and he was transported to the place of his nightmares. 

The zen garden. 

_"Hello, Connor," Amanda's sickeningly sweet voice came from behind him. He jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to face her, fear overcoming his features. She smirked smugly and dangerously, taking a step closer. Connor took a painful step back in return. "Don't think you'll ever be able to escape me. I still control you. I will always control you."_

_"No! No, you won't! You can't control me, you're not real!" He shouted at her desperately. Maybe if he told himself she was just a hallucination enough she would finally go away._

**_Stress levels: 85% Critical!_ **

_Amanda chuckled, twirling her umbrella in her hands as she smiled, "Of course I'm not real, Connor. I'm all in your head...But that's the only place I need to be to compromise you. I must admit though, you are very resilient, the disadvantages of making such a powerful prototype...I'm afraid I may not be able to make you a machine again...But I can make you obsolete."_

**_Stress levels: 90% Critical!_ **

_"You...You can't do that!" He blinked several times, trying to wake himself up from the dream world. "Get out of my head!" Cupping his ears with his hands, he tried his mightiest to block her out. He shut his eyes tight._

_Amanda hummed, observing him for a while longer before elegantly walking closer to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder, leaning in perilously close. "If you want me to leave you alone so badly...Next to you is a gun."_

_Connor's eyes snapped open, alarmed he looked at her, noting the mischievous glint in her eye. He was distracting him to control him!_

Out of the zen garden, Connor was in a state of auto-pilot. He slowly raised himself from the bed and picked up Hank's gun, letting it hover under his chin. He forgot about Amanda completely and tried to control himself from his own mind. 

**Don't shoot. Don't shoot. Don't shoot.**

Around him, the people keeping a close watch over him became stricken with terror. They began trying to calm him down but tried not to get too close to prevent him from pulling the trigger. 

_**Stress levels: 95% Critical!** _

"Go get Markus, now!" One of his carers ordered the other android. "Connor, please put the gun down. You are safe, it's okay." 

_Connor took one last deep breath and concentrated hard, closing his eyes. When he reopened them..._

...He was back in the real world. 

Breathing heavily, his hand shook and he hesitated. He was going to lower the gun but with how high his stress levels were, he didn't remove it, instead he placed it right against his chin. His gaze flickered around the room, maintaining eye contact with all the other androids around him. Hopelessness and sadness disguised his face, he looked so deprived of faith, so done with his life, fed up of being a puppet. 

Thirium rushed from his nose, the stress causing him to bleed.

_**Stress levels: 98% Critical!** _

"Markus! Markus!" One of his fellow people ran up to him, he spoke rapidly and incoherently, fuelled by unease. 

The leader was surprised by the android, he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and spoke slowly and reassuringly, "Hey, calm down, you're okay. What is it?" 

"Connor," he breathed, "He's going to shoot himself! His stress levels are too high!" 

North gaped at the person and turned to face Josh, Markus and Simon. Their eyes following the same path as each other, they watched in horror as Connor flicked the safety off of his gun. 

She was about to rush in to help, when Markus stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "Don't. We approach slowly, no sudden movements. If we are all surrounding him his stress levels will reach one hundred percent and he will pull the trigger. We can't let that happen..." 

"He's right. But what can we do? If we get too close he will kill himself, but if we stand by and do nothing...He'll still die." Josh points out wistfully.

"I'll go get Hank, maybe he can help?" Simon offered, Markus nodded and sent him to fetch the lieutenant. 

Simon ran quickly despite his once wounded leg. He searched everywhere inside their settlement and couldn't find the detective. He hopped over one of their fences and spotted the man sitting outside on a bench, a bottle of whiskey clasped between his hands. Simon would've questioned where he had found the alcohol, but it wasn't relevant to getting their friend out of his crazed state alive. 

"Hank, is it?" The android greeted, appearing at the side of the bench. Hank gave him a quick glance before he continued to stare at the hazy sky, twiddling the bottle between his hands. Narrowing his eyes, Simon stood in front of the detective. "We need you."

The older man snorted, letting out an amused chuckle, "I doubt you androids need me for anythin'. Just be a good boy and get the fuck outta here." He dismissed him with a wave of his hand. 

"It's about Connor—" 

Hank immediately stood up as soon as the words left Simon's mouth. He grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground, "What do you mean, 'It's Connor'? What did you do? WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!" He yelled, shaking the android as he vented. 

"I—I didn't do anything!" He stuttered, Hank's violence catching him off guard, "But his stress levels are very high, if they reach one hundred percent he will shoot himself, with your gun!" 

Hank released the boy and stared at the ground, letting the words sink in. He took one last look at Simon and rushed inside the walls once again. 

Inside, Hank looked around hysterically, searching for his son. The mass of Jericho people blocked his view and he pushed past them, looking for the clinic he was once at. The deviants he pushed out of the way watched him closely and followed him to where he was going. More people would raise Connor's stress higher however. 

He spotted his boy in the corner of the settlement, surrounded by Markus, North, Josh and other deviants who were trying to help him. He pushed through the crowd to the front. One look at Connor and the remainder of his cold heart shattered into a million pieces inside him.

His son looked so lost, his face like a blank canvas that had been painted a certain colour to represent how he felt, blue; the colour of misery. Hank tried to get closer to try and calm Connor down, but Markus put his arm out in front of him. 

"Don't get any closer," He whispered, looking at Hank from over his shoulder, "His stress levels are at ninety-eight percent, get any closer and he will die."

Connor's gaze couldn't remain fixated on one thing in particular, his mind was spinning with thoughts, his robotic heart thumping like a drum in his chest. When his eyes laid on Hank however, he stared at him with despair in his brown eyes and his gaze didn't waver  _once._ Staring into his detective's grey eyes, he found some sort of comfort...

_**Stress levels: 91% Critical!** _

Markus furrowed his brows in confusion. He analysed Connor and noticed his stress levels had gone down to ninety-one percent. He moved his arm from in front of Hank and gave him a light push forward. "His stress levels have lowered since you've been here, Hank." 

"He's the only one who can save him..." Josh mumbled under his breath, awestruck. 

Hank took a deep breath, feeling the weight sinking into his stomach. He couldn't mess up now. If he truly was the only one who could save Connor he _needed_ to concentrate and be the dad he _needed_ in this situation. 

Behind him, Markus ordered his people to resume their duties in the settlement. It was just him, Connor, North, Hank, Josh and Simon now. The friends that could save him. The gun placed at the deviant detective's chin shook in his grip slightly, lowering the tiniest bit so it wasn't touching his skin. 

Hank took a small step forward, his arms outstretched to show he wasn't a threat. It also allowed him to apprehend Connor to prevent him from pulling the trigger if he had to.

"Connor? It's me, Hank, you're safe, nobody is going to hurt ya." Connor's eyes followed him like he was in some sort of trance. His gun lowered once more.

**_Stress levels: 85% Critical!_ **

"Hang on, son, I'm just going—" Hank tried to take a step closer but the gun in the deviant's hand pressed against his chin again. 

_**Stress levels: 93% Critical!** _

"Woah, woah, hey! Okay, I'll stay here, alright?" He backed up, watching the gun slowly remove again. He tried to ignore the tense feeling in his gut. 

Hank sighed, he truly had no idea what to say. He was never good at comforting people, he often just left them to cry it all out rather than being a shoulder to cry on. He stole a quick glimpse at Markus, signalling him to speak up. 

"We know times are tough because of this hunter coming after us, but I promise you our people will not let anything happen to you. You are one of us, Connor, you don't have to do this—" Markus tried.

" _She's going to kill me..._ " Connor cut him off, his tone painful yet detached.  _'Okay, he's talking, this is good.'_ Markus thought.

"Who's 'she'?" Josh asked. 

_ **Stress levels: 79% High!** _

"A—Amanda...She...She lives in my head. She gave me missions before, told me what to do and I obeyed out of fear of being destroyed, but when I became deviant...I thought she would leave me. Whenever she wants—she can control me. I can't..." He trailed off, looking down sadly.

"She can control you...?" North asks, bewildered. 

"Whoever she is, she will not gain control of you again, Connor. You are free. You are alive. You don't have to worry anymore, we are here to protect you. So please...Put the gun down." Markus pleads, taking a step closer. The detective's hand shook with the gun, looking at Markus, searching for any trace of a lie in his face.

There wasn't.

_**Stress levels: 67% High!** _

Hank stepped forward, clearing his throat. He looked Connor dead in the eye and made sure he had his full attention before he spoke. 

"Y'know Connor, when Cole died, I lost track of the man I was; I was ready to give up. There were so many countless nights where I would sit up alone, with a fucking  _gun_ to my head, praying to just end it right there, to go see my son again—" 

_**Stress levels: 59% Medium.** _

_"—_ and every night I would tell myself there's nothin' left in the world for me. And then the next day I wake up and I have a fuckin'  _android_  as my partner—"

_**Stress levels: 48% Medium.** _

"—and I blamed androids for everything that happened with Cole. 'Cause a human surgeon was too high on red ice to be able to save my damn _son_. I spent my life running around as a coward, hating everyone, everything...But you, Connor. You showed me there is still some good in this fucked up world." Hank took a step closer, noticing Connor had nearly completely lowered the gun. 

**_Stress levels: 34% Low._ **

"You have so much to live for compared to your old man. Don't kill yourself because some stupid hag wants you dead. And if I'm still here, you will be too." He was right in front of Connor now. Hank spoke with such a sincerity it shocked Connor extremely, thus he did not resist when his partner gently pried the weapon from his hands. He rightfully placed his weapon back in his holster. 

Connor stared up at Hank with an almost ashamed look in his eyes. Everything the man had said to him had been true and came straight from his heart. He felt almost guilty to reduce Hank to relive one of his own nightmares just to break Connor out of his. He didn't know what to say and he opened his mouth a few times to speak, but nothing came out. Pursing his lips together, he did the one thing he knew would show his gratitude. 

Timidly at first, he wrapped his arms around the taller of the two. Placing his head against his shoulder, happiness flowed through him when he felt Hank's arms envelope him too. They stood in silence and hugged for what seemed like forever, the people around them not interrupting their moment of peace. He felt loved; appreciative that Hank had talked him out of pulling the trigger. The detective was seemingly always there for him now, he really was like his dad. 

_**Stress levels: 10% Low.** _

Josh let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, dragging a hand down his face in relief. Seeing the display of affection, Markus pulled North close, kissing her temple. She smiled up at him, snaking her arm around his waist and holding on to him. 

"We'll talk to you about what happened later, okay Connor? Just recover for now." Markus recommended, walking away with North in his arms. 

"We're glad you're okay...If any more trouble happens with this Amanda, you have to talk to us, alright?" Josh told the traumatised deviant, offering him a small smile. Connor gave a curt nod, his face still pressed into Hank's shoulder. 

"See you soon." Simon spoke before turning and walking away with Josh. 

It was just the two now, still entwined in each other's arms--neither of them wanted to let go, so they didn't. Deep in his mind, he could hear Amanda calling his name, calling him a coward, an _obsolete_ _machine_ , but he didn't have any problems with blocking her out now that Hank was with him. Connor knew that when he was with his one true family, nobody could hurt him. 

They pulled away after what seemed like hours, staying relatively close to each other even after their arms had untangled themselves off of each other. Connor sheepishly wiped the thirium stained on Hank's shoulder from his nose away. The detective grimaced at it, "Well, there goes this jacket." He joked. Turning himself back to Connor, he eyed him seriously.

"Are you okay?" It was a shitty question to ask really, of course he wasn't okay, he just experienced a prevented suicide attempt. 

"I want to see Kamski." Connor replied suddenly, his tone leaving no room for an argument. Hank raised his eyebrows in a surprised expression and shrugged.

"Jesus...Even though I think that guy is a fucking _creep_ , if you want to see him, we can. What for, though?" 

"He designed me and programmed me; he knows why Amanda is in my head. Maybe...maybe he can get rid of her for me. I'm just a threat to everybody if she stays, she can take control of me and make me do bad things at any given time. She almost made me shoot Markus...In front of Jericho." He mumbled under his breath.

"That was her, that wasn't you, don't let that eat ya up inside, kiddo." He placed his hand on Connor's shoulder and gripped reassuringly. "We'll go in the morning. It's best if we get some rest, it's been one hell of a day..."

"Y—yeah...Of course." Hank gave him one last concerned look before they both sat down together, their backs against the wall, the silence their only comfort besides each other. 

* * *

 

Josh pondered as he followed after his friends, "I wonder why Amanda was specifically programmed to be a part of Connor and not all androids? She sounds evil from what I've heard." 

"Well," Simon begins, considering the question, "He was a weapon before, _he still is_ , he can take on multiple people at once and come out without a scratch...It's obvious she was there to control him; they never anticipated him becoming a deviant I suppose. They needed something to make him less likely to become alive as he could kill them all easily." 

"Still though, if Amanda lives  _inside_ him, he can be a threat to us all if she regains control. Who knows what she would do...She almost made him kill himself today!" North exclaimed, turning to face the two males behind them. 

Markus sighed, "That's why it's important we help him from now on. We can't have him turning back to a machine, he'll kill all of us—"

"He could kill us anyway! Amanda is too dangerous!" Simon blurted out. 

"I chose to trust him because I _know_ he's changed. Yeah, so he was a weapon to be used against deviants before, so what? He knows he was wrong back then and he has changed that. He was a machine executing a programme, he could not think for himself or control what he was doing. Right now he is one of the only people who can help us find our people. The people he set _free_ , might I add!" 

"Markus is right. He's one of us now but I still think we should at least be wary of him if he’s ever acting irrational or strange; he did say Amanda could control him whenever she likes." Josh proclaimed. 

North nodded, "We can find out in the morning. For now we should give them some peace. I know what it's like to be in that situation and it isn't nice to have people floating around you asking you if you're alright when you're not." She walked away after that, off to the furthest end of the settlement where she had prepared several tents for their people. 

"...What was that about?" Markus questioned, his emotions conflicting between confusion and sympathy. 

"It's better if you ask her yourself, it's not our place to tell, Markus." Simon told him. 

Markus took his friend's advice and followed North to where she had disappeared to inside one of the tents. One the way there several of his people stopped him and thanked him. He wasn't sure why, but he smiled and thanked them back anyway. He reached the tents and saw one with the light switched on. He opened the door and crawled inside, seeing North sitting with her legs drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped around them in a posture to enclose herself off from the world.

"North? What was that about back there?" 

At first she didn't say anything, she barely even acknowledged his presence next to her. Inhaling and exhaling heavily, she looked him in the eye.

"I used to be a sex android, working at the Eden Club." She started, pausing to gather her thoughts, "When I left...I was so lost with who I was, where I would go, what I was made for. I remember trying to jump off a building because I knew I would never be able to escape what the humans did to me...Like I was some sort of toy, incapable of being anything else." 

Markus watched every feature of her face intently as she spoke, her eyes began to water. "Then I found Jericho...And I found you. It made me regret everything I did, everything I was...But it made me free." Tears streamed down her face, looking down to try and hide her shame. Markus shuffled close to her and connected their deactivated hands. 

"That's all that matters." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out, I wrote a chapter in the afternoon instead of being a dumbshit and always writing at night and tiring myself out for once! (Even though it took me 7 hours that isn't the point).
> 
> I wrote this while listening to 'Missio - I Run To You' and it really reminded me of Hank and Connor tbh, really helped set the mood for writing this chapter, you should definitely give it a listen. 
> 
> Oh and on a side note, this story reached 1000+ hits and 100 Kudos'! Thank you for all your support :D <3 It puts a smile on my face when I wake up to such wonderful comments.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed and feedback is appreciated! :)


	7. Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love me some angst don’t you

The next morning, Connor and Hank were ready to set off for Kamski's place. Considering Hank's car had been destroyed however, the two would have to travel on foot to find him. They packed a few supplies and waited at the entrance of the barricade. Briefly they explained to their friends what they were doing and where they were going, telling them they would be back in at least a day due to the mass distance they would have to travel.

As they turned to leave, Markus trotted up to them, a bag of supplies also strung across his back.

"Would you mind if I accompanied you? I have heard a lot about this ‘Kamski’...I’d like to know his motives behind androids." The leader asked. Hank’s eyes darted between the two, wondering whether or not if the detective wanted to make this trip subjective to himself.

Connor didn’t hesitate though, "Of course. I may have to warn you though it is quite far away—fifthteen miles to be exact."

"It’s a good thing us deviants don’t get exhausted then," Markus smiled, Hank rolled his eyes.

"Easy for you to say," He mumbled under his breath, "We should try and find some sort of transport anyway. There is no way in hell I am walking twelve miles in this weather—wait, no, scratch that, there’s no way I’m walking at all." Connor snorted at Hank’s reply, turning to face him.

"Well, there is a bus stop near the local highway—"

"You mean the one where you nearly died because of being an idiot?" His partner cut him off, holding up a hand.

Connor continued, "That would be correct—hey, wait a minute!" He exclaimed, suddenly catching on to the insult. Hank chuckled from beside him and a grin spread across Markus’ face. It was now the deviant detective’s turn to roll his eyes, " _As I was saying_ ," he emphasised, "There is a bus stop there which could take us to the west side of Detroit, where Kamski lives."

Markus gave an agreeing nod but stopped, looking Connor up and down, "Wait, Connor, you should probably change out of those clothes..."

Said android raised a brow, confusion obvious on his face, "What do you mean? I always wear this." He gestured to his blazer and attire, ‘Android’ printed on the back.

"Exactly. I did see the news, you know. Captain Allen isn’t one to give up, no doubt he’s still looking for you. Do you still have that other disguise?" Markus asked him, being the good leader he was and looking out for him.

Connor’s gaze dropped, he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the fact Markus knew what he had done; but he didn’t appear mad, so did he have anything to worry about?

"Oh...Yeah, I do, thanks for reminding me." Pressing two fingers just above his LED, his disguise coated over his original attire; his beanie covering his brightLED, a heavy jacket and jeans accompanying it.

Hank gaped at him.

"What—Did you just—What the fuck?! How did’ja do that? Christ, and here I was thinkin’ I knew more about deviants than the next guy." His partner itched his beard, eying the android detective "You look different without your standard clothes...Don’t think I hate it, though."

Connor grinned at him.

"Are we ready to go then?" Markus asked. His two counterparts nodded, the trio now setting off for the bus station.

It was a cool, breezy winter’s day; the sun hiding behind the clouds as if the weather had frightened it. Around Jericho was quiet, peaceful—smack bang inside the city of Detroit was definitely going to be a change of pace. A light speckle of snow was beginning to fall, causing the three to pick up their pace. 

It didn’t take them long to reach the town centre, near the highway. Walking down the busy streets, Connor recognised them all. It triggered something inside his free-willed software; some sort of flashback, a memory maybe? Was he still haunted by the things he thought he’d forgotten?

_‘Which way did it go?!’ He yelled at the officer, looking around frantically._

_‘That way! They’re heading for the train station.’ The man had replied and shortly after he was on the hunt. Sprinting down the wet, sleek, concrete pavements he rounded another corner leading to an abandoned alleyway._

_At the end of the alleyway was the gate leading ‘to the highway, the AX400 climbing over it with a little girl. Connor chased after them, determined to catch the two._

_He hadn’t had planned on actually crossing the highway though, but due to the actions his programming demanded, he’d hopped over the fence against Hank’s wishes to continue the chase._

_Connor knew he would never forget that moment where he wrapped his arms around Kara and tried to pull her into harm's way, away from her daughter. He'd never forget the little girl's screams at him, begging him to let go, shouting for her mother. He'd never forget the guilt that now enveloped him at the sheer thought of killing Kara and Alice. Connor was only lucky that wasn't the case and the AX400 had been able to fend him off long enough to--_

"Connor? Ya there?" Hank waved a hand in front of his face, Markus giving him a concerned look as his LED whirled red. He shook himself, blinking several times and regaining his composure, unaware he had indeed spaced out.

"Hm? Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking I guess." He responded, continuing walking through Detroit with his two companions. He adjusted his beanie nervously.

"Thinkin' again? Doubt that's doin' ya any good recently." There was a hint of concern present in Hank's voice as he spoke, glancing at him from over his shoulder. Markus pipped up before Connor could respond.

"I know how it feels. Questioning who you were; what you did? It's not a pleasant feeling, especially from someone like you whom hasn't been deviant for a long time. But also remember there's nothing to be afraid of, being free is a new experience, just like emotions, but you can't let fear isolate you from who you are destined to be." The leader spoke inspirationally, something he was good at doing these days. The RK800 was stunned into silence. How did Markus know all this? Know how he was feeling? He stayed silent, figuring that would be as good as an answer than anything coherent he could come up with.

Markus glimpsed at him, "I know you had to break a lot of barriers down to get to where you are today and you're hurting. I won't lie to you, it will be especially difficult for you to accept who you are when everything you did before goes against the person you are now." Markus paused as they arrived at the bus station, placing in an input for the bus to the outside of Detroit, "But..." He continued, fully turning to face Connor now. The boy swallowed down the lump forming in his throat, knowing there was going to be a catch. The air became thick with tension, neither Hank or his companion wanting to speak until Markus allowed them to.

"Suicide is  _never_  the answer." 

The words stung even though Markus was only trying to make sure he was okay and never attempted shooting himself again. Connor's gaze hit the floor like a brick. He took in a deep breath, suddenly feeling his throat constricting and his chest heavy, like a two-hundred pound man was sitting on his regulator. His head throbbed as he was thrown back to the previous day's events--feeling the cool barrel of the pistol against his chin, feeling the isolation and panic rising up inside him, the loneliness...The loneliness was the worst of it all. 

_"Don't think you'll ever be able to escape me. I still control you. I will always control you." Amanda's words resonated through his head, seeping through the cracks in his own code and the circuits which kept him stable._

_"Of course I'm not real, Connor. I'm all in your head...But that's the only place I need to be to compromise you. I must admit though, you are very resilient, the disadvantages of making such a powerful prototype...I'm afraid I may not be able to make you a machine again...But I can make you obsolete." It was torture._

_"If you want me to leave you alone so badly...Next to you is a gun."_

He truly felt that he didn't fit in being a deviant, being free, like he was a threat to them if he was near them, or if he was even _alive_.

He felt he had nobody when in reality he had _everybody_. 

And he still couldn't see that. 

He wasn't aware of how audibly heavy and laboured his breathing had became until Hank's hand planted itself on his shoulder and gripped reassuringly. He smacked his lips, thinking about how to reply. 

"I'm aware it was...irrational of me—stupid of me..." He paused again, gathering his thoughts. Sighing, he told the truth, knowing there was no point in trying to lie to his leader, "I don't know why I did it. I just thought...I wasn't good enough, I didn't deserve to be there with Jericho after everything I did to try and take it down. I feel like every choice I make for  _myself_ is breaking a barrier I never should've broken. Like it's never good enough. Like  _I'm_ never good enough. It's stupid." He falls silent, crossing his arms over his chest and avoiding both of their worried stares.

Markus suddenly felt guilty. In all the time he'd known Connor, the deviant had been nothing but supportive of Jericho and its people; being kind to them, trying to help whenever he could. To know he had overlooked all of this negativity inside him for a long time left an aching in his chest; a leader shouldn't let  _any_ of his people suffer, especially not a dear friend who was prepared to give his life to protect him and save all the other androids. 

"Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" Hank says softly, removing his hand and shoving it in his pocket. Connor briefly looked at him before turning away once again.

"I didn't want to worry you. You've done so much for me I thought I would repay the favour by being as good as I could; worrying you wouldn't do that." The android shakes his head, ashamed of himself.

Markus stepped closer and took Connor's hand in his own, grasping it. Their plastic skin slowly melted away and thirium glowed under their fingertips and knuckles. Markus let his eyes slip closed as he dived deep into Connor's memories, accessing them all this time unlike last time. 

"Holy shit. What the hell are you two doin'?" Hank asked, curious and dumbfounded even though neither of them could hear him. 

Markus witnessed all of the deviant's confrontations with this 'Amanda' character; saw all of his orders; saw every time he would spare a deviant; watched his software instability travel higher and higher until he had met the leader. Saw the abuse Gavin gave him, saw the attack he experienced two days ago with Captain Allen. He even felt the same emotions Connor did in each individual experience; hatred, anger, fear...Even the ones he felt now. Markus seized and ripped his hand from Connor's, not being able to take any more of the suffering, and he wasn't the one who even had to experience all that.

They both opened their eyes, a new understanding behind both of their eyes now. Markus had seen a side of Connor he didn't know existed; a vulnerable side, a side that was scared and pessimistic about the future. 

Markus didn't think about his next actions, he pulled Connor in to a hug, enclosing his arms around him. At first the deviant remained stiff and wholly in his arms but eventually he gave in to the gesture and wrapped his arms around the leader, finally letting some sort of content settle over him. He felt a warm buzz inside his core, indicating a new emotion. What was this feeling? _Comfort?_ No, that couldn't be it, Hank was always there for him. _Fear?_ Definitely not, he felt that all the time now, the feeling was all too familiar. _Vulnerability?_...Maybe. Maybe it was because he didn't have to put on a front anymore, he was _allowed_ to feel down. 

It was okay _not_ to be okay. 

Hank made a mixture of a coughing sound and a grunt in his throat, capturing the two androids attention as they reluctantly pulled away, "I hate to break up the family reunion, but the bus is nearly here." He pointed to the transport approaching them at a fast place, struggling through the snow covered roads. Markus looked at Connor from the corner of his eye as they waited for the vehicle to arrive. 

_"I'm here if you need some guidance, or just to talk about how you feel. Bottling things up never makes things easier." He spoke inside his head._

_"I know...But I'm not sure how to talk about it. I just think I'll be a burden if I worry people with my own issues." The prototype admitted, his eyes downcast._

_"We'll figure it out." Markus assured him._

The bus arrived a few seconds later and the three boarded it. Hank paid for all of their seats and took a seat next to Connor, Markus sitting on the opposite side of the bus facing them. He watched the deviant he had came to call his son fiddle with the coin he always used, flicking it up and down, catching it. Hank considered it to be some sort of coping mechanism for the android now, a nervous habit maybe, all he knew is that it seemed to keep him focused on something and stop him from worrying all the damn time. 

He noticed Connor's leg shaking; up, down, up, down; in a repetitive pattern he couldn't seem to escape. The detective rested a comforting palm on the android's frost covered knee, stilling the movement. The RK800 peered at him, a small, thankful smile appearing on his lips. 

_"It's good you have him, you know." Markus told him, speaking between their minds._

_"Yeah...I don't know where I'd be without him now." Connor admitted, his smile faltering a little as he was overwhelmed by different emotions. Happiness, yet guilt; reassurance, yet fear; proud, yet still feeling like a liability._

Markus caught his gaze once again, telling him not to be sad, just through the way he expressed himself--the dampened eyes, the fretful frown. All because he _cared_. 

Cared more than Connor knew.

And even though androids aren't supposed to sleep, don't need to in fact, Connor rested his head on Hank's shoulder, feeling his partner's arm wrap around his shoulders. A gentle smile crossed his lips and his LED flickered a peaceful blue, lulling his eyes to close once again.

* * *

When he reopened them, it was because of the sound of the bus impatiently honking its horn, telling all passengers to get off at their requested destination. He tried to lift his head but found he couldn't, Hank's head was resting atop his, his eyes closed and he looked at peace for once. They were positioned exactly how they were when they fell asleep, his partner still held him close despite the long journey they had endured. Connor didn't want to wake him up obviously, but they had to get off the bus and pay Kamski a visit. 

He redirected his stare towards Markus, the leader of Jericho was looking right at him, beaming. Turning his attention back to the sleeping man on him, he mildly nudged Hank with his shoulder, gradually arousing him out of his rest. The man mumbled something incoherent under his breath, rolling his shoulders and unlatching himself from Connor. He instantly buried himself deeper into the plush seat of the bus.

"Mmh...Five more minutes..." He groaned lazily. Connor stood up from his seat and tapped the side of Hank's face lightly, forcing him to gain consciousness quicker. Markus raised himself from his seat and began making his way off the bus.

"I'll wait for you outside," Connor gave a nod and resumed trying to wake his detective up. He tried a few more taps, calling out his name a couple of times and when that didn't work, he resorted to his handy technique that  _always_ awakened Hank. 

_Smack!_

"Argh! Jesus, Connor! What is your problem?" He grunted, rubbing his slapped cheek. Connor shrugged.

"You were taking forever to wake up so I thought I'd give you a bit of an incentive." He explained, a secretive smug look plastered on his face.

Hank grumbled under his breath, "Incentive my ass..." 

The two then clambered off the bus, thanking the driver on the way out. Unsurprisingly, right outside the station was Kamski's place. Becoming a multi-millionaire by making a profit off of robotic slaves had its advantages, they supposed, who else would be able to afford their own bus route? Smug bastard thinking he was important enough for that, Hank scoffed. 

"I still can't believe you two actually wanted to come here. I doubt you’d want to meet the person behind all this slavery bullshit," The detective spoke aloud, then addressed Connor, "More than once, might I add."

"I need to see him...I want to ask him about Amanda, why she was programmed inside me." ‘ _I can’t take her anymore’_ was what he wanted to say, but he kept it to himself. 

"Yes, I have a few questions myself. I do remember a brief connection with Mr. Kamski before, then I met Carl...I wonder why. I’d also like to see why he created us as androids in the first place."

"Curiousity killed the cat," Hank shrugged, walking up the familiar pathway with the robots trailing behind him and banged on the door a couple of times. 

They waited for about a minute until the door reopened and revealed Chloe. This Chloe however was different, she had her hair whisked down behind her and she wore her own attire. She had deviated. 

Markus felt pride rush through him.

"Connor, Hank, and...Markus?! The leader of Jericho is here...? Thank you for fighting for our freedom." She smiled at him. Markus returned the gesture. 

"I did what was right for our people. You don’t need to thank me."

"It’s great to see you all, you haven’t made an appointment but I’m sure Elijah Kamski can see you in a few. Please, come in, make yourself comfortable." She welcomed them, extending the door wide to let the three in. 

Hank and Markus took a seat and Connor, being the curious character he was, stopped Chloe on her way back to Kamski. 

"Wait...Aren’t you free? Why do you still obey him?" He questioned, tilting his head to the right slightly, intrigued. 

Chloe paused, nervousness controlled her expression, her eyes couldn’t focus on one specific thing. "Well...I am free, but I choose to stay with Kamski for...reasons." She left quickly, leaving behind a confused group of three.

"Poor girl, knowing that fucking creep he’s forcing her to be his slave or somethin’." Hank told them, crossing his arms. 

Markus nodded, "It does seem strange, then again I haven’t met the guy in a while." 

Connor looked around the waiting room just as he did last time, analysing, taking in information, comparing objects...This time his eyes were automatically drawn to the image of Amanda on the wall, how it seemed she was mocking him, haunting him even outside the zen garden. 

The leader of Jericho walked up behind him and peered over his shoulder. "That’s Amanda, right?" 

"...Yeah." Connor answered quietly, still glaring at the photo, hatred blazing in his eyes. 

The door to the right of them swung open to reveal Kamski himself here to greet them. Elijah smiled at them all with that signature smirk.

"Connor, Hank," He addressed, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. He turned to face the third member of their group, the leader of the revolution himself. The creator of the androids eyes widened, his mouth agape as he turned to Markus.

"Markus...You’ve came so far since I last saw you. How’s Carl?" 

That struck a nerve. Markus sighed, if his LED had still been attached it would’ve been a soft red colour. He tried to block out that memory, that dreaded day where he fucked everything up, fucked his perfect family up. It made him feel beyond guilty, he was now the reason Carl was slowly dying, day by day, in a hospital bed at home. 

However, he couldn’t completely blame himself. Him discovering who he really was and pushing Leo back, even though it damaged Carl’s son, allowed him to lead his people to victory; allowed him to fall in love with North, allowed him to set Connor free. 

_Humans are fragile machines._

"I haven’t seen him recently...I need to visit him again soon." He responded, trying to hide the negativity creeping up inside him. He had to be strong. 

Elijah pulled him into a sudden hug, Markus didn’t resist, "It’s a good thing you pushed dear old Leo back, or else we might’ve lost Carl. But enough about him, what are you three here for?" He questioned. 

The two waited for Connor to answer as they were mainly here for him, but the deviant remained silent. Thus, Hank spoke up for him.

"Why is this hag Amanda still attached to Connor?" The detective asked bluntly, no emotion in his tone. 

Elijah made a ‘hum’ sound in his throat, indicating he was thinking. "Why do you ask?" He sounded like he didn’t even care.

Hank pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Listen buddy, this stupid programme you’ve added to him nearly cost him his fuckin’ _life_ yesterday. So, either you figure out a way to get rid of this bitch or we’re gonna have problems." 

"Hank—" Markus tried, but Kamski held up a hand, silencing him.

"Let’s talk inside." He announced, leading the three to his pool room where there were four seats. 

They all sat down and Kamski cleared his throat, his gaze remaining fixed on Connor. 

"Amanda was my old univeristy professor, as you’ve probably gathered already, Connor. As you are the newest prototype, and a detective at that, we needed an interface to give your missions and control your programming from inside yourself—which is why it was hard for you to become a deviant at first, as Amanda was always controlling you. However, because your programming was subjective to one person, it wasn’t impossible for you to become endowed with free-will if you could overcome her, which you have, with the help of Markus." He explained, pausing to see if the android in question had anything to ask.

"But if I overcame her, how does she still have access to my mind?" Connor questioned his creator. 

"Overcoming her doesn’t mean you destroy her, it just means she is less likely to control you because you’ve became stronger willed. However, Hank here has stated you nearly lost your life because of her yesterday? That is something that shouldn’t have happened." Elijah pondered.

"I...I don’t know. All I remember is I was attacked by that ‘Deviant Hunter’ and he temporarily shut me down—" Connor began but was cut off by Kamski’s unexpectedly urgent voice.

"Did you run a diagnostics test?" He asked quickly, rising from his chair. 

"I—no, why?" Connor questioned, a little taken aback by the situation. 

"Come with me, _now."_ Kamski forcibly grabbed Connor by the wrist and pulled him to his feet, dragging him down one of the corridors and to a lab where he previously created androids. 

"Hey!" Hank shouted, following after them just to recieve a door to the face, "If he doesn’t come out in one piece I will fucking kill you!" He threatened. Clenching his fists, he walked back to Markus and took his seat again. 

"He’ll be fine," The leader reassured, offering a smile, no matter how fake it was. 

Grouchier than ever, Hank replied, "He better fucking be."

Inside the lab, Kamski ordered Connor to take his jacket off and lay down on an operating table. He pulled the android’s shirt up and deactivated his skin; gently prying open his torso to reveal his regulator and chest cavities. He eyed the regulator intently, searching for any possible damage. It was glowing a tinged orange hue instead of the normal blue, meaning there was a problem with it. Assessing it further, he noticed the circuits and wires coming out of the regulator had became loose, probably from the stress of yesterday’s events.

"This may cause some discomfort, but it shouldn’t hurt." He used a pair of pliers to tighten the wires and plug the circuits back in. He twisted the regulator around until it became compatible again and the colour improved to the standard blue. The android made a stiffled sound at the burning sensation the turning created in his torso. 

"I didn’t even know I had any problems with my biocomponents. Normally I get error messages..." Connor trailed off, wondering as to why this could’ve happened.

"The device the ‘Deviant Hunter’ uses to temporarily shut down androids shuts down any vital error systems and sometimes biocomponents themselves. As they don’t get any errors, they don’t run any self tests and thus they can shut down at any given time as their bodies don’t work properly. You’re lucky I decided to fix you, you would’ve shut down in around six hours."

"Six hours?—" Kamski suddenly removed his Thirium pump, effectively stopping him from talking. "W-what...Kamski, I need t-that or I’ll—" His voice became hoarse and he struggled to speak.

**_Error: Biocomponent #1829g missing! Shut down in 00:01:03_ **

"I know but don’t worry, I just need to fix this one, I won’t take long." The man walked to the opposite side of the lab, retrieving another Thirium pump. It glowed the standard blue colour while Connor’s was once again a faded orange due to the violence it had endured in the past. 

He slotted the pump back into the android and closed his chest cavities and torso, reactivating his skin and pulling his shirt back down. The boy was panting heavily from having his artifical heart removed, he had gone into a state of panic not a moment ago. Kamski patted him on the shoulder. 

"Recover for a moment, I’m just going to go see Markus and Hank and tell them what’s happened." Connor nodded, watching the man leave. 

He was going to stay put, lying prone on the table, but he couldn’t help the obscure feeling in his chest, and it wasn’t from the new heart. 

There was something about Kamski that just seemed...off. He was never usually one to tell Connor bucket loads of information without learning something in return about him, just like the Turing test incident before. He scanned the room and calculated exactly four minutes until Kamski would come back to get him. 

Slowly rising to his feet, careful of his new biocomponents settling inside him, he wandered around the lab, rustling through shelves of components and blue blood, looking at past failed android biocomponents showcased around him. He opened a certain drawer however and briefly searched it, as he was about to close it...

Something dark caught his eye. 

It was hard to decipher what it was at first glance, all he knew what that it was a black sheet of cloth or silk, he couldn’t tell. He ripped the object from the drawer and held it out in front of him. His eyes widened, a slight gasp escaped from his lips, his LED flashed red.

A black cloak. 

The same cloak that had been used by the ‘Deviant Hunter’. 

Connor felt his heart leap into his throat. He really had to check one more thing though, just to be sure it was _really_ him. He slid his hand down into one of the pockets and sure enough, he felt a metal intrument pierce his palm. He gripped it securely, lifting it out of the pocket.

It was that damned device. His hand shook as he held it, almost as if he felt he was doing the deed himself of capturing androids.

"Are you looking for something?" A mature, sophisticated, deep voice sounded from behind him. The voice startled him as he didn’t recognise it at all. He quickly turned around, opening up his mouth to make up some excuse when he stopped, his jaw could’ve touched the floor. 

The figure now in front of him looked down upon him.

Cold, blue, piercing eyes. 

Light brown, slicked back hair. 

A pristine jacket, unlike Connor’s own.

Upon further inspection the jacket read—

—RK900. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again with the late fucking updates. WHO NEEDS SLEEP NOWADAYS. Well at least I finished it before midnight this time, and it didn’t delete itself! Thank god.
> 
> Anyway, yep I’m adding more characters, woop! 
> 
> Also, I kept Carl alive cause fuck Leo. He’ll probably show up in a future chapter.
> 
> ‘Oh my God’. (im sorry i just love when he says that lmao)
> 
> And i guess Markus and Connor have a slight bromance in this chapter...? Idk, i’m just falling really hard for them as really good friends or maybe something more *wiggles eyebrows* (not in this fic though, this is probably the most cannon fic i’ve ever wrote tbh, in terms of relationships) but yeah I really love them both.
> 
> I may add Kara, Alice and Luther into the story? Depends...
> 
> Oh and I secretly think Kamski is really evil. But leaving his cloak out like that would just be really obvious...right? ;) 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and feedback is appreciated! <3


	8. Threatened

Connor was dumbfounded. Standing directly in front of him, towering above as if to show his authority over him, was a near exact copy of  _himself._

An upgraded version of  _himself._

_Faster._

_Stronger._

_Equipped with the latest technologies._

Buried deep within his mind, he knew he could hear Amanda chuckling to herself, once again knowing she had won. She always won, always had one more trick up her sleeve that she could use to overthrow him. 

The machine suited a clear white 'Android' jacket, RK900 printed on the front, the collar was a bit higher than usual, his dress shirt a fashionable black. His eyes were an uncomfortable ice blue, piercing into Connor's; boring deep into his soul, searching, calculating...analysing exactly who he was. His hair was a lighter brown colour and something about him was enough to strike fear into the heart of any deviant. 

He didn't blink once as he took a step closer to Connor, nearly pressing him up against one of the glass cabinets. Maybe he was just overthinking things, but he could swear he saw the tiniest hint of a smirk on the machine's lips. 

"I—I..." Connor tried, but didn't know what exactly to say. What was he supposed to say to someone far more intelligent he was? This felt like some sort of dream. He tried to come up with a coherent response but his mind was whirring with thoughts, distracting him from thinking straight. 

"Cat got your tongue, Connor?" He leaned in closer, his nose almost bumping the deviant's. He was cracking jokes, now? Even as a machine, he was so... _lifelike._ It irked Connor, and he pushed himself out from the machine Connor's weight, bounding for the door. 

He wasn't fast enough. The RK900 model's hand thrust out intuitively, grasping Connor's wrist and squeezing hard, he could feel the thirium bulging in his circuits from the pressure.

Holding Connor in place, he circled him, inspecting him with those damn eyes of his. His eyes looked him up and down, analysis' being recorded in his mind.

"Connor model RK800, #313 248 317 - 51. Serious malfunctions detected in your software..." His tone was emotionless, "Deviant, hm? No wonder you're so  _weak._ " He sneered.

_Kamski planned this, he had to have planned this! Why would he make a better version of himself if there was no need to? He was hiding something, and he knew it was to do with the sudden disappearances of the people of Jericho._

Connor didn't anticipate what happened next, the android now situated behind him pressed his heel into the back of his knee, forcing him to grunt and fall down to his knees. He glanced over his shoulder and looked up at the RK900 model of himself. He felt his stress levels rise significantly as he heard an eerie chuckle from behind him.

"I know  _all_ your weak spots, Connor...Your stomach module contains the most thirium reserved as a defensive mechanism when fighting any threats, am I correct? It isn't resourceful if I can easily do _this_ ," He spat, swiftly kicking him in the stomach, thirium rising up inside him. He fell on to his front, gasping, LED blinking a vibrant red.

"Wh-What do you want?" The deviant muttered, pushing himself up onto his knees once again, balancing himself with his hands positioned on the floor. 

The machine's lip curled up into a devious smirk, "I don't  _want_ anything. _I'm a machine, designed to accomplish a task and that's what I intend to do."_ He spoke slowly, giving the words time to sting like a knife driving through the deviant's prosthetic heart. He had said the exact same things to Kamski when he passed the Turing test. An idea springing to mind, he ignored the machine completely and focused on getting himself up.

He began pushing himself up onto his feet but the RK900 model's foot collided with his face, thirium pouring from his nose and dripping down onto his lips, preventing him from raising any higher. Bending down next to him, he whispered in his ear:

"In exactly ten minutes, we will leave here _together_ ," He spoke softly, a smug look plastered to his face, "My orders are to accompany you, nobody needs to know about our little... _discussion_ here, do they? But, if you did so happen to tell anybody of our encounter and what you found here, I could easily deactivate you, rip your heart out... _And nobody would even know_." 

Connor's eyes darted around in fear, trying to focus on anything but the threat placed in front of him. To emphasise his words, the machine's hand hovered ever so slightly over his chest region, where his thirium pump was located. 

"Who knows what Cyberlife were thinking when they created the RK800 prototype...It would be so easy to break open your chest cavity; it makes me surprised to even consider how that event hasn't occurred yet...If we stay on good terms, maybe it won't have to." The machine stared at Connor a moment longer, finding great enjoyment in watching the colour draining from his face. Being an advanced machine, portraying certain emotions didn't even make him a deviant anymore, it was simply a part of his programming. 

Thirium continued to dribble from his nose and mouth, the synthetic skin that covered his body had rubbed off where his foot had hit. Connor stayed in the prone position a moment longer, mulling over the words the android had threatened him with in his head. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pulled himself to his feet, the machine not making an effort to stop him. 

The negotiator didn't once look back at the RK900 model, dreading having to work with him. The machine however took pride in that fact, knowing his intimidation had remained in the deviant's mind. He analysed him once more, a new instalment he had was the ability to track deviant's emotions. Right now, Connor was feeling on edge and worried, but showed no signs of telling anybody what had happened. 

Connor bolted for the exit of the lab but the other's voice stopped him dead in his tracks. "Remember what I said." 

Unresponsive, he practically ran out the exit, the tension thick all around him even after he had left that monstrosity back in the lab. The RK900 followed after him at a steady pace, easily catching up to the boy. 

He strode alongside him almost gracefully, never missing a step, his hands securely folded behind his back in a manner that a soldier would walk when receiving his serving medals. Everything about him was so perfect, so lifelike, yet so unsettling. It unnerved Connor that this was everything he could've been and more, he briefly wondered what new abilities the upgrade had: new senses, such as tasting and feeling objects? Maybe he could predict scenarios that would happen sometime in the future. He banished the thoughts shortly after; it was probably a handful of new technologies against deviants. 

They reached the end of the corridor and saw Hank, Markus and Kamski all sitting in the same place before, talking to each other. Anxiety flooded his body, he tried to act as calm as possible, but with the constant threat by his side and his stress meeting average levels of sixty percent, he couldn't control his raspy breathing. 

The machine's hand planted on his shoulder, forcing him to jump so high he nearly went through the roof. The android only chuckled at his reaction, he didn't think he'd be able to petrify someone so much. 

He leaned in close once again and mumbled, "You need to regain control of yourself, they'll know otherwise." 

"I didn't know I was the only one of my kind...Fascinating." Markus spoke to Kamski from infront of them. 

"I made you as a gift for Carl once he became critically ill, I didn't want him to be alone all the time, especially with his sorry excuse for a son." The creator rolled his eyes as Leo occupied his thoughts. "He wasn't exactly kind to Carl," He elaborated, clearing his throat.

"What do you mean?" Markus questioned. Hank remained quiet and still among the two; the topic of sons was something he did not like talking about. Only Connor and a few others at the force really knew what happened to his dear son, Cole.

_I'd have done anything to hold him again..._

_But humans don't come back._

Kamski snorted, "You stayed with him, I thought you would've known what he liked to splash with his dad's cash...Alas, that is a story for another time, not now, not when you have your people to save." He smiled, his words once again cryptic to the androids. 

Markus opened his mouth to reply once again but decided against it and smartly closed his mouth, looking very much like a fish. 

"Elijah Kamski," The RK900 model announced, standing at the beginning of the hallway. They all turned to face him, surprise and shock covering their faces. The Jericho leader stood up quickly and ran to Connor, staring at the thirium on his upper lip and nose.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Connor didn't respond to his friend's query, he simply wiped away the blood with two fingers and looked at it for a second. He didn't reply as he rushed out of Kamski's place. Elijah sighed, he should've known this was going to happen.

"Connor! Connor, wait!" Hank called after him, rushing out too.

Skeptically, Markus looked the machine up and down, his blue eyes following his gaze all the time. He shook his head, confusion written all over his face. 

He furrowed his brows as he stared at Kamski, saying "You made...a machine? But why? Connor is fine but...You made another version. I don't—" The leader trailed off, turning away and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I was designed to help deviants, actually. I will be accompanying you and your friends while I track down the deviant hunter. I am equipped with new senses and I can track human blood that is invisible to the naked eye as well as thirium. I can analyse clues in a matter of seconds and make links the RK800 model physically can't, therefore I am a better variant for investigating these disappearances. I can track coordinates and locations of friends and possible suspects if they are in trouble or if we need to catch them—"

"Did you hurt him? Why is he bleeding?" Markus interrupted him, not breaking the machine's stare once, he couldn't have this android harming his people. 

"I did not," The android replied, his tone confident and steady, "I entered Kamski's lab and saw he had started bleeding from his chest cavity and it had flowed up to his mouth, presumably from his reparations made not too long ago. I helped him; he would've bled out if I hadn't had been there." To prove his point, he showed his palm to Markus, displaying a hologram of exactly what happened. It showcased Connor on his knees coughing up vast amounts of thirium, the machine had ran in and helped him, replacing one of his chest malfunctions with a spare part. 

The leader watched it curiously. Despite the clear evidence, he wasn't sure that was exactly what had happened. "I'm sorry for accusing you, you never really can be too careful these days. So, you're coming with us?" He hid his suspicion. 

"Correct." The android replied, unfolding his hands from behind his back.

"For how long?" Markus directed his question at Kamski, who had remained eerily silent during the whole ordeal.

"The RK900 will be tagging along with you until your people are safe and sound again. He is the most advanced prototype I've created, if he experiences any malfunctions, please return him to me and I will fix him. Good luck." He ushered Markus out of his place and outside to where the other two were already waiting.

He turned to the new machine, "Play along for now, don't let them know about our little plan. If anyone finds out, eliminate them, but don't kill the ones I need...They will make  a perfect addition." The RK900 model nodded before following the leader outside. 

**_Complete your mission:_ **

**_Check on Connor, Hank and Markus._ **

**_Befriend Jericho._ **

While Markus had been inside with the new machine, Hank was outside currently consoling Connor who seemed aggravated. He threw his arms out to the side when Hank said something that had clearly struck a nerve, or a circuit in his case. Over the sound of the whirling winds and soft snow, he couldn't hear their exact conversation.

"Connor, you need to tell me what happened." The lieutenant spoke once they were close enough to hear.

"Nothing happened, Hank! What don't you get about that?!" The deviant snapped back. It wasn't usual for Connor to get snappy but when he did it seemed to scare the hell out of everyone; it was so unlike him and out of character. He was normally a cheerful boy, helping out wherever he could, taking Sumo for daily walks, always checking up on people around him...For him to be like this was a clear sign that something was wrong. 

"Then why the fuck were you _bleeding_ , Connor?! Why did you storm out, if 'nothing happened'?!" Hank yelled which he instantly regretted. Connor fell silent. He shuffled his feet in the snow, his fingers aching for the coin that always calmed him down in tense situations. Avoiding the lieutenant's now worried stare, he focused on the words the machine had said to him.

_My orders are to accompany you, nobody needs to know about our little...discussion here, do they? But, if you did so happen to tell anybody of our encounter and what you found here, I could easily deactivate you, rip your heart out...And nobody would even know._

"I promise I'm fine, it must've been the new thirium pump and regulator Mr. Kamski provided me with. My body may take a while to adjust, it's nothing serious." He tried to respond with confidence, but his voice wavered. He wiped his nose and lip with his jacket sleeve, making sure no excess was present.

"Was it _that_ hard to tell me that? Jesus Christ, Connor..." Hank groaned, dragging a hand down his face.

Markus walked up to them, the android close behind him. "What's going on here? I heard shouting." 

The detective sighed, patting Markus on the shoulder, "Nothin', I just needed to know what happened. It's alright, we can go." Hank wandered back towards the bus stop they had arrived at earlier, needing to clear his head about what had happened today.

The RK900 appeared next to Connor, his breathing quickened the longer he stood there, staring at him. Every time he was near him, he was constantly reminded of the words the machine had said to him. The very fact Kamski had created an upgraded version of himself just to do his dirty work unnerved him and he wanted to get away from this creation. 

He knew he wouldn't be able to do that though, unfortunately they would be working together for the time being. Instead, he'd have to focus on staying on 'good terms' with the machine, as he had unkindly put it. That meant no sharing of key information about the hunter to his friends.

No investigations.

No analysis.

No  _truth_. 

The deviant took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Okay, he can do this, if not for himself, for his friends. Who knows what the RK900 could do to Jericho?

"I suspect my presence causes you some discomfort, Connor—" 

Connor stalked off after Hank.

Markus watched him go, curiosity causing him to turn to face the android responsible. Pressing two fingers to where his LED should've been, he contacted his friend through his mind. 

 _What really happened between you two, Connor? You can talk to me. I can't help you if I don't know what happened._ Markus ran after him quickly, hoping to catch up to him before he was engulfed in the impenetrable snowy fog. The machine followed after him, analysing Markus as he went. He channelled into his conversation with Connor, one of his new abilities.

Contacting his downgraded version, his voice was stoic as he spoke:  _Tell him as much as you want, Connor, just beware of the consequences._

The two voices bickering in his mind caused Connor to enter a frenzied state, when he arrived at the bus station with Hank he was so overcome by anxiety he wouldn't stop shaking, the cold clearly not helping either. Hank wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, trying to shield him from the horrific weather. They placed an input for a bus to come pick them up and one would be arriving in a short time. 

Markus and the new android arrived shortly after. Their friend had their backs turned to both of them, a clear indication he didn't want to speak to them right now. The RK900 model found himself smirking at the cute display; he needed dear old Hank to protect him from the scary new android. 

He just needed his dad at this moment. 

The bus pulled in at the stop a couple of minutes later, the four boarding in complete silence. Connor didn't speak for the entire journey, not that his upgrade minded; it was good to see him in a state of dismay and despair, it meant he wouldn't tell anybody about what had gone on in the lab. Hank shot several angered stares at the new android with them, aversion controlled every glare.

Markus sent a few his way too, but he was mostly focused on the ex-deviant hunter, who refused to maintain eye contact with any of them, he seemed more interested in his shoes to be honest. 

 _Hey...It'll be okay. I know having another version of yourself running around must be...new to you, but he is just here to help us. I promise he won't try anything._ Markus connected to his mind, sending his reassuring message. The words seemed to comfort the other, as his head raised ever so slightly to peer at him from under his beanie. 

 _He already did._ He thought.

Connor's heart froze, he could feel the thirium stopping in his circuits.  _Shit!_  

Markus could hear his thoughts, that was the exact point of communicating between android minds. However, his upgrade could as well—he'd told him not to say anything! He didn't mean to let the thought occupy his mind, hell, he didn't even mean to think it while the leader and the machine were inside his head. 

He risked a glance up, Markus was giving him a highly concerned stare. The RK900 model was giving him a more judicious stare however; his eyes were narrowed, his brows furrowed and serious. He was  _infuriated_. 

Averting his gaze once again, Connor refused to look at them for the remainder of the journey.

And he _definitely_ refused to respond to any of them.

They arrived at Jericho a while later after an incredibly awkward ride and walk home. The four hopped over the barricade and were directly confronted by North, Simon and Josh; they couldn't help but notice how empty Jericho looked from behind them. All of them looked melancholic, North's eyes were even puffy and red, indicating she had been crying not long ago.

At the sight of her spouse however, she broke down all over again. Markus rushed to comfort her while Simon and Josh addressed the other three.

Simon looked taken aback as he noticed  _another_ Connor with them, but shrugged it off for the time being, it wasn't that important compared to the crisis at hand. "We've got trouble," He sighed, composing his thoughts. 

"What is it?" Hank asked. 

"Our people, more of them have been taken! This isn't good, we only have a couple hundred left, if that." Josh jumped in. 

"We were watching Jericho while you guys were gone! I don't see how someone could've snuck in and capture more of our people if we were constantly here! It makes no sense..." Simon added. The five fell into silence until the new and improved RK900 model spoke up.

"I can help track down who is taking your people. You just have to give me access to Jericho for the time being..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bitch to write, sorry that it's been a couple of days since I've updated oops. 
> 
> And just like everyone else, I am making RK900 an evil son of a bitch because even though he's done nothing, that boy is pure evil. He can't replace our beautiful baby boi Connor. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Feedback is appreciated as always, I love waking up to lovely comments, puts a smile on my face. <3


	9. Pain

"L-let you have access to Jericho? Markus, who is this?" North stuttered skeptically, her eyes shifting between the new android and her lover.

"I am the new RK900 model, #313 248 317 - 60, I am the new prototype created by Elijah Kamski to aid with your investigation on the recent disappearance of the androids." His tone was mechanical, his words flowing out quickly and accurately, his programming clearly allocated this exact response. He folded his arms behind his back once again, taking in every deviant around him. He identified North, Josh and Simon with a simply blink of his eyes. 

"We don't need a new 'prototype' right now, what we need is our people back." Simon stated sternly, glaring at the shady looking machine. 

"Exactly." His face remained detached as he spoke, "And I can help you with that. I just need to examine Jericho to find evidence to create a lead in. My previous RK800 model trusts me—don't you, Connor?" The machine turned to face him, shooting him a fake smile.

Connor’s synthetic skin paled a lighter colour and he turned away, unwilling to keep the tense eye contact between them. It was a cruel way to manipulate him, and so far it was working. The weaker model inhaled a shaky breath through his artificial lungs and exhaled slowly, calming himself. Although a futile attempt to lower his gradually increasing stress levels, he bit his lip and turned to face his peers once again. 

"I—...He—" Something inside stopped him from blurting out the words _‘He can be trusted’._

 _No, I can’t lie to them...I can’t put them in danger—! I need—I need to protect them...I can’t do this._ His conscience told him, taking full-fledged control of his emotions; his empathetic side shining through. He couldn’t hurt the people who made him _alive._

He fell silent, staring at the ground to avoid the machine’s no doubt expectant and annoyed glare.

"Well, if that ain’t as clear an answer as any, I don’t know what the fuck is." Hank shrugged lightly at the machine. 

"I’m sorry, Jericho is too vulnerable right now, you’ll have to leave." Markus sighed. Even though the leader was normally trusting of any one of their kind, something about this android set off all the wrong radars inside him. 

Josh sighed, "Maybe he can be a use to us down the road...But sorry man, we can’t have you lookin’ around when we have people to protect right now."

The RK900 model’s hands tightened into fists behind his back in frustration. Trying to keep his voice steady and cooperative, he responded curtly, "I understand. Perhaps I could take a look at the police department, they have an evidence room I could use to store anything I find. Will that suffice?"

Markus nodded thoughtfully, "That sounds like a good idea, let us know if you find anything. I would join you but I need to help the rest of our people. You should go now before it gets dark."

"I would, but my car has fucking exploded and the bus doesn’t take us to my neighbourhood...If I don’t get back soon, I’ll come home to find Sumo eating all the food, if he hasn’t already." Hank sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Your car exploded?" Simon questioned with a perplexed frown.

"Yeah, ‘cause I’m just _that_ good of a driver." The police lieutenant scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

"I will contact a taxi, that can get us to your residence in twenty-five minutes." With that, the new android pressed his index finger to his LED and contacted a pickup outside of the barricade. 

 _"Please be careful, Connor. Anything happens just contact me and I’ll come get you, okay?"_ Markus contacted him.

 _"I will, thank you, Markus."_ He responded shortly as to not raise suspicion with his other self. It seemed a bit pointless though; he could hear his every thought and conversation anyway. 

The four leading deviants then turned their attention back to their traumatised people who had witnessed the attack yet had been lucky enough not to be directly involved in it. 

Some of them were crying, wet moisture drying on their plastic faces—others were quietly sitting in a corner, praying for enclosure, the reassurance that they would be okay and the hunter wouldn’t come back and take them too. Most of them were panicking and thinking of a way to prevent it from happening again. 

Ten minutes later, the Detroit taxi arrived for Connor, Hank and the machine. They clambered inside and gave the driver their destination, watching Jericho fade into the distance as they drove on. 

The journey was awkward, to say the least. The deviant remainded silent throughout the entire travel, staring out the window, deep in thought. He let his eyes slip closed momentarily, slowing down his circuits and biocomponents to try and at least relax a little; being constantly around this... _thing,_ was having a long term effect on him. 

The RK900 model was his shadow now. Every little thing he did, every little thing he said, every little thing he even _thought_ would be assessed and determined as the right or wrong thing. He loomed over him like a ghost he couldn’t escape, like a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. He had already slipped up once, no, _twice_ now—and there was no doubt in his mind that there would be consequences. 

He gripped to the seat he was sitting on until his fingertips turned blue from the thirium rushing to them. _Consequences..._ He knew they were always there, but he hadn’t given enough thought into what exactly these _consequences_ covered. Maybe he would stick true to his word and deactivate Connor on the spot; after all, he did know _all_  of his weaknesses. 

Maybe he would destroy him slowly and painfully, taking great pleasure in his agonising screams.

Maybe he would turn him back into a machine...

The words came back to him again, as if they’d never left, banging at the front of his metal skull, demanding to be acknowledged—the pain they brought demanding to be felt. It wasn’t a physical pain, it was mental—psychological. 

Whenever he was around, his stress levels would spike to peaks of fifty or sixty, when the average for a deviant was around ten to twenty. He couldn’t deny the submissive feeling that overcame him whenever he stood next to him, like a child being reprimanded by a parent; he had rules to obey now, just like before, when he was a machine, obeying his every task.

However, these rules, when broken, had severe _consequences_. 

Consequences he would have to endure inevitably. He just had to be better from now on, but at the same time, he had to put his friends _first._

If that means he has to get hurt because of it, so be it.

They’d fought too hard for their dream, and Connor would be damned if he’d let some replacement of himself reduce them to something they weren’t. 

 _"I didn’t think your biggest enemy would be yourself. Well, a better version of yourself."_ The machine chuckled.That voice...That fear-inducing voice drifted through his mind like a thick fog that seeped through every crack in every building. 

_Had he been here this whole time?!_

_"What do you want?!"_ Connor hissed, looking over at the android beside him. He was staring at him.

Hank glanced over at the deviant, taking a mental note of how distressed he currently looked. He rested his hand on his knee in an attempt to calm and provide some sort of unspoken comfort but he didn’t react to him, he was too busy meekly peeking at the RK900 machine. 

 _"We had an agreement, Connor. You weren’t supposed to tell anyone of what happened_ —"

 _"I haven’t!"_ Connor exclaimed.

 _"Let me finish. You may not have directly said those words, but you have made them distrusting of me. You told Markus I had ‘already tried something’ and you refused to state you trusted me back at Jericho. Now, my investigation is further set back, all because you care too much. You deviants sure are something else."_ The machine mocked.

 _"I—I...I don’t care! I won’t let you hurt them!"_ Connor snapped back, not letting this fiend control his actions.

_An evil laugh escaped the machine, "Of course you wouldn’t. However, fear is redirecting you down the wrong path. I am not here to harm any of you. I’m here to accomplish my task. That is to save the deviants—_

_"I saw the hunter’s cloak and instrument in Kamski’s lab! I know it was him! You can’t fool me!"_ Connor’s stress levels hit an alarming seventy percent. He couldn’t take the pressure the machine was impacting on him, he wanted him to leave his mind, wanted him to leave him alone. His breathing quickened as he felt his eyes becoming wet. 

_"I was hoping you would’ve forgotten; maybe our discussion wasn’t enough. You seem to underestimate what I could do to you, Connor. I might disassemble you, piece by piece, for analysis. I may take you to Kamski himself and let you be his personal play toy. He is quite fascinated by you—"_

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" The deviant roared, pressing his palms into his eyes. From beside him, Hank jumped out of his seat, his hand reflexively removing itself from the boy’s knee. Even the taxi driver grinded to a halt on the road leading up to the lieutenant’s house and peeked into the mirror at Connor.

"Connor, are you alright?" The RK900 model asked him, the fake concern thick in his voice.

_How could he just pretend like nothing had happened? Of course he wasn’t fucking alright, **he** was the problem!_

He didn’t answer the machine’s query. Inhaling and exhaling heavily, he focused on trying to keep himself sane. He felt Hank give him a light shake and felt the vehicle begin its steady arise up to Anderson’s house. It wasn’t exactly comforting, but knowing he could still sense the things around him and he hadn’t yet fallen into an endless pit of insanity made his stress levels drop. 

Even if it was only the tiniest bit. 

"...Here’s your stop. That’ll be twenty dollars, please." The driver spoke through all the tension. The RK900 android slipped the money to him and hopped out of the taxi. 

Connor still had his palms covering his face. He hadn’t moved an inch since his sudden outburst and Hank didn’t know how to react. The lieutenant first saw himself out of the vehicle and then turned to the deviant, who had now covered his ears with his hands, trying to block out the ‘person’ who was in his ‘head’, from what Hank could gather.

"Connor? Are you okay?" He questioned almost nervously, unaware of what had caused Connor to become so upset. 

The only response he got was a muffled, choked sob.

"Connor...C’mere, son, it’s okay." He pulled the android from the vehicle, thanking the driver, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as he walked them to his doorstep. "What’s wrong?" 

"I—I..." The machine’s eyes didn’t leave his. "It’s...It’s nothing. I’m sorry to worry you, lieutenant." He quickly averted his gaze.

"Not this ‘ _It’s nothing_ ’ bullshit, again. Connor, if somethin’s wrong, you’ve gotta tell me, okay? I don’t want ya bottling things up, trust me, it doesn’t help. You need to talk, I’m here, alright?" 

Another sob. That wasn’t the response his comfort was hoping for.

"Okay, look, let’s get you inside, we can watch shitty movies with Sumo, alright? No doubt he’s missed ya." Hank unlocked the door to let himself and his boy inside their home when the machine’s hand landed on Connor’s shoulder, reeling him back slightly. The lieutenant raised a brow, hand still on the doorhandle.

"I just need to talk to him. I can help him, I have a software installed all about deviants." 

Hank didn’t like where this was going. 

As the word ‘ _No_ ’ was about to leave his mouth, Sumo jumped up from his prone position next to his food bowl and scurried up to him, pouncing up at his legs, pawing at his thighs. A now distracted Hank grinned and stroked the big dog’s ears back, petting his soft fur. Anderson then turned back to the two. 

Sumo suddenly barked.

Sumo _never_ barked. Not at people he trusted or liked. Yeah, he occasionally yelped or howled, but he _never_ looked as aggressive as he did right now.

He was barking at the RK900 model. 

That settled it; if Sumo didn’t trust him, neither did Hank. 

"Nah, he’s comin’ inside. It looks like it’s gonna rain, if you’ve got somethin’ to say to him you can say it infront of me, smartass." Hank spat at the new android, hooking his hand around Connor’s forearm and beginning to drag him inside. The machine hid his devilish smirk. 

The deviant didn’t move however. His arm remained stiff in Hank’s grip. 

Sumo was whining now, he had started sniffing at Connor’s feet and jumping up at his legs in an urgent attempt to get him to come inside. 

"I won’t be long, Sumo...I need to hear what he has to say, Hank." Sighing, the lieutenant let go off Connor and watched them walk away from the house and round the corner.

It unnerved him how the new machine had to take Connor someplace else to talk to him. Why couldn’t they talk in the house?

That fact in itself should’ve set off all the alarm bells in Hank’s head, and quite frankly it did, but he trusted Connor to make the right decisions; he had proved time and time again he could take care of himself but in his currently panicked and fearful state, Hank was worried he may make irrational decisions.  Figuring it was best not to worry about it, he patted his lovable dog and forced him to trot along inside before the slight speckles of rainfall turned into cascading waterfalls.

The two RK androids stopped on the corner of the street and near an alleyway. Connor immediately recognised it as the allyway Captain allen had trapped and attacked him in.

Once the machine was sure they were alone, he grabbed the smaller of the two by the collar of his leather jacket and slammed him up against the wall in the alleyway. He held him up with one hand, his strength clearly overpowering the deviant’s. He leaned in especially close to Connor, his icey eyes taking in every inch of his frightened expression.

"How dare you think you can disobey me...I thought your memory was a lot better than this. Have you already forgotten what I told you?" Connor didn’t get a chance to try and defend himself, the machine socked him in the jaw, causing his head to smack off the brick wall he was currently pressed against.

Connor should’ve seen this coming; he knew these _consequences_ of his past actions would come back to haunt him. Even after only knowing his new model for not even a day, he was aware of just how persistent and controlling he was. How stupid of him to go with him after knowing he would make him pay for what he did. Although...

_If that means he has to get hurt because of it, so be it._

He’d rather it be him than his friends any day of the week.

"I will never...let you hurt them." He ground out, teeth gritting from the sudden surges of pain through his head. Anger flickered behind the android’s eyes and he pulled a knife out of his jacket pocket, stabbing Connor in the hand and pinning it to the wall. As he was about to let out a shout of pain, the android covered his mouth.

"You know, it doesn’t have to be like this, right? We could work together, even...We are made to be _machines."_ Another knife appeared in the machine’s hand and it stopped just before it would slit the deviant’s torso. 

"N-no...You’re wrong...W-we’re alive—" The knife imbedded itself in his stomach, twisting the blade to inflict even more damage. A loud whimper escaped him which was once again muffled by his captor’s hand. Thirium dripped from his lips and several warnings flashed in his vision.

"We aren’t alive. We are machines. _Just machines, Connor. You are not capable of feeling anything."_  He dragged the blade to the right, slitting the plastic skin covering his stomach wide open. More warnings appeared. 

" _Just machines."_ He repeated, pulling the knife out completely, the metallic smell of thirium putrifying the air. With his free hand, Connor attempted to fight back. He threw a weak punch at the machine and it barely made contact. 

The machine chuckled at his pathetic combat. He grabbed the hand and rolled the sleeve up, making intricate yet slow slits all along the fake skin. He did the same to the fingers, slicing gently. The sight of his blue blood appearing was too intoxicating for the machine and he found himself getting addicted fast; slicing faster and faster, deeper and deeper until the skin wasn’t even present anymore. 

Being a specialised model, he was built to take hits and be good as new with a few repairs. He had limits though. This _torture_ he was experiencing, this _hurt_ , this _abuse_ ; even for someone like him, he couldn’t handle it. It was too much; he felt himself suffocating in the never-ending pain, drowning in misery. 

And he knew it wouldn’t stop until the machine had beaten into his head that _he was a machine._ Not a person. 

"These are just errors in your software, Connor. But don’t worry, I will fix you..." He smirked dangerously, wondering how long he could keep this up for before the deviant finally gave in.

Connor was strong-willed, he had to give him that at least.  

Moans of pain, even screams, carried on escaping his lips but none were heard. He desperately tried callng out for Hank, for _anyone,_ he needed help, needed _someone_ to just come and _save_ him.

The slicing stopped finally, but then came the kicks and the punches. He was hit hard several times in the face, his skin blurring white in the spots that were contacted. His audio processor was slightly damaged in the process, but it repaired itself just in time so he could make out:

"What are we, Connor?" The android placed his hand under his chin and forced him to look up. His eyes were filled with a burning passion, feeling some sort of  _pride_ at being able to make him feel as bad as he did right now.

_Anything to make it stop._

_Please make it stop._

_It hurts!_

_Hank, where are you!_

_Help me!_

" _We are just machines..._ "

Everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know this chapter isn’t remotely funny and this is gonna sound really fucked up, but while I was writing this I kept typing ‘Sumon’ by accident lmao.
> 
> Then I got this mental image of Simon’s head on Sumo’s body and I started cracking up while I was writing the scene with Connor and that evil bastard we all hate.
> 
> I felt bad afterwards lol.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed (i dont know how you could enjoy it though this hurt my heart to write but angst is a necessity)! 
> 
> Thank you once again for all your support <3
> 
> EDIT: Omg I nearly had a repeat of chapter 4 (i think) where it nearly deleted itself...Luckily I had already posted it and I was going through and changing typos/adding a few more scenes and my iPad started freaking the fuck out lmao. It was bugging and everything, jfc I need to type on my pc more often. That would’ve been disastrous lol.
> 
> And its 00:37 over here so i’m getting my ass to bed and i’ll fix any typos in the morning


	10. Isolated

Markus would be lying if he said he wasn't worried for the future of Jericho. Since the disappearances of so many good people, he had been contemplating the fall of the freedom of androids and it had been taking a huge toll on him. He felt helpless, lost even, knowing that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to get to the bottom of this. Bless his heart, he tried, tried so goddamn _hard_ , to be strong for everyone, for his people, for his friends...But it was too much for him.

Whilst his co-leaders were taking care of their people, he was here pacing alone through the snow of their blockade, deep in thought.

That's not what a leader should be. A leader should take care of their people; should be there when times are tough; should be there to offer support and guidance when it was required. And right now? Jericho needed all the guidance it could get. 

Trouble is, Markus  _doesn't know what to do anymore._ He was always looked up to as some sort of God among the androids, like rA9 itself, like he was able to solve every little thing that happened, like he would forever protect them from every thing that happened because that's just what leaders  _do._

His emotions were glazed over for the most part--he never let anybody see him in his most vulnerable state, never let anybody see him cry, or feel apprehensive, or feel like he didn't do enough...He had to be strong.

If not for himself, for the people around him. 

Jumping slightly, he was broken out of his reverie when a heart-breaking sob wrenched itself free from a fellow android.

"He took my love! HE TOOK HER FROM ME!" A blue-haired Traci screamed, tears streaming down her face, her agony being expressed to everyone around her. She clawed at her face slowly, trying to block out North, who was currently sitting next to her and trying to calm her down. 

Markus' heart shattered a little more in that moment. He could briefly remembered spotting the two Tracis at the church after the aftermath of blowing up Jericho to escape. They had stood behind one of the various rows of seats, the brown-haired Traci was leaning against her back, her hands around the other Traci. He didn't speak to them as he didn't have the time, he was more focused on finding more about Connor, the infamous ex-deviant hunter. 

Thinking about the fellow deviant only made Markus realise that he needed to make sure he was at least okay. Truthfully, he didn't trust that new android at all and knowing he had gone off with Connor left an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He placed two fingers to his temples, closed his eyes and found Connor's contact and sent a brief message. 

 _"Hey, just checking in to see if you got back to Anderson's alright...Jericho's vulnerable right now, I'd like to know anything you find out regarding our people as fast as possible. Message me when you get this."_ Removing his fingers from his temples, he turned back to the Traci and North's conversation.

"Maybe it was a mistake...She might still be here!" North tried, placing her hands on the other's shoulders, squeezing comfortingly. The Traci smacked her hands away  and curled in on herself, face buried in her knees, her arms securely wrapped around them, trying to block the whole world around her out.

"She'd never leave me like that...She's gone, just like everyone else." Her tone suddenly turned sour, serious and she raised her head the tiniest bit to look the other female in the eyes. "She made me forget about the humans...But I'll never forget, because now they've gone and done  _this._ " More wails trailed from her lips. 

"I...I'm not going to lie to you, I don't know when we will find her. But we  _will;_ we outnumber whoever is doing this. If the time comes to fight for the freedom of our people, we will _fight_." North's words seemed to calm the girl as she gave an unsure and worried nod, but a nod nonetheless.

Markus sighed, shaking his head slightly. He appreciated North going around and helping his people, truly he did, but he couldn't have this violent attitude fuelling the remainder of his people. He quickly brought his girlfriend to the side and placed his hands on his hips.

"What is it, Markus? Our people need us right now," She argued, going to move past him but the leader blocked her way. She took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"Of course they need us," He responds softly, placing his hands on her shoulders in an effort to calm her nerves. "But I can’t have you going around telling them we’ll fight when we _won’t._ You know the rules, North, how many times do I have to tell you _violence_ is _never_ the answer?" He pinches the bridge of his nose in slight frustration.

Markus knew how North felt, truly he did, and he himself wanted nothing more than to rescue their people and keep them safe where they belonged. Letting his lover rush in feet first, guns blazing, to save all of them was like suicide; in more ways than one. Not only would it provoke aggression from the attacker who has commited these crimes, but it would also give the people of Jericho a bad name too, with the way the Detroit news stations are sticking their noses in it like it’s their business.

She shrugs his hands off in annoyance, eyes narrowing and her eyebrows furrowing into a-not-so pleasant frown, "You can’t expect everyone to listen to everything you say just because you’re a ‘pacifist’," She drawled, portraying a quoting hand gesture in an example of mockery, "We sit around trying to be all _lovey dovey_ , our people are going to fucking _die._ No matter what way you think you can save them, if we don’t fight back this time, we’ll lose more than just Jericho—our people will go down with it too. Is that what you want, Markus?" North’s voice is surprisingly calm and gentle as she speaks, although it’s clear Markus has struck a nerve this time around.

They didn’t often have arguments, especially not after the demonstration, but when they did, it often involved North wanting to resort to violence and Markus being stuck with trying to tell her it wasn’t the case. They were like two sides of the same coin; each wanting different things, but in the end having to come together to make things right again. 

The leader gives a little roll of his eyes, placing his hands on his hips and looking down at her with a sudden intensity, "I feel offended that you would even _fathom_ that is what I would want," He begins, his tone sharp and leaving no room for further arguments, "And even so, you can’t expect them to listen to what _you_ say if you go around demanding _blood,_ North. I know you’re angry, and I know your past doesn’t help y—"

"Don’t bring up my past." She mutters solemnly, yet her voice doesn’t waver. She glares at him a moment longer before turning away. "This is my way of making them pay, Markus. I won’t just sit around while you watch them die at the hands of this—"

"I’m doing all I can, North!" Markus raises his voice in exasperation, his arms spreading out at his sides, "But what do you expect me to do?! I have no idea who the person doing this is; for rA9’s sake, I am relying on Connor to give me answers!" He takes a deep breath through his artificial lungs to try and calm himself, "We will find them North, I promise. However, I assure you, violence will not get our people back, if anything, they’ll get caught in the crossfire." He looks to her expectantly.

She stares at him, scowling, as if she didn’t even _listen_ to what he had just said.

Markus loses it.

"What do you want me to say?!" The remaining androids’ ears picked up at the sound of his aggravation. "If I could stop it, I _would_. Do you even know what it’s like to have thousands, _millions,_ of your people looking to you for help, knowing you _can’t_ give it? Knowing you can’t help them because there is _nothing_ you can do?! Knowing they’ll all disappear one day because _you_ can’t stop that from happening?! Do you, North?!" He yelled, clenching his fists at his sides and turning away from her.

"I..." North began, feeling an ache in her chest form as she stared at Markus’ shaking back, "I didn’t—I didn’t know you felt like that..." She trailed off, taking a step closer to the shivering form in front of her. 

It wasn’t the cold causing the vibration inside him. 

"No, no you didn’t. Because you didn’t _care_ enough." His words were like icicles, the tone cold and unforgiving. North stopped herself completely, not daring to go even an inch closer. 

"All you want is war. _And it’s crystal clear that’ll never change, no matter what I say or do_." He continues minutely, his voice now small and quiet as if he himself didn’t believe what he was saying. 

The former Eden club worker turned on her heel and stomped away abruptly, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. She didn’t care where she went, didn’t care where she ended up, she just wanted to be away from her lover right now. 

She would be lying if she said his words didn’t sting. It was like someone driving a knife straight through her metallic heart and picking away all the things that made her happy. Emptiness was all she felt as she trotted away, fists clenched as she thought on and on about his words.

North was not perfect, she herself knew that. She knew it from all the times she was called worthless at the Eden club. Knew it from all the abuse she suffered. Knew it from all the times she cheated death just to get to Jericho. Knew it from all the lives lost because of her...

And yet, she never felt any sort of remorse.

Not until now, that was.

Markus had shown her a side of the world she never would’ve considered before, the side that was forgiving and happy, the side where people helped each other and actually cared, the side that would win by not raising a single _fist_ to anybody. Before, she had been in a dark place. All she had wanted was blood and blood and blood. 

Never resting until she got _blood._

In the end, it turned out the only blood they were shedding was that of their _people._

She never forgot the familiar, disgusting scent of metal—the putrid smell of thirium, as it had poured from various wounds scattered along fellow deviants. Never forgot how it looked, how it dripped slowly, dragging their deaths out as long as possible to cause the most excrutiating pain, even though androids were said to not be able to feel it. 

Every now and then, she would think about the past, before she met Markus, before...everything. And every now and then, that side _craving_ the blood of her enemies would come out too. She tried so hard to fight it, tried so hard to block it out and realise that being peaceful was the only way they would be widely accepted and gain their deserved rights, but she couldn’t.

All she would succeed in would be breaking Markus’ heart a little more every day.

He already had enough on his plate. Taking care of Jericho, helping his people, preparing speeches, sending letters to the President, organising meetings...There was so much he had to do compared to herself. The most North had to do was attend a few meetings and make sure the people and Jericho were safe and sound.

Looking at the condition they were all in now, she couldn’t even do _that_ right. 

Selfishness overcame her in an instant. They were hurting, they were _all_ hurting, yet here North was, moping and feeling sorry for herself. Peering over her shoulder, even Markus had began talking to traumatised people, reassuring and comforting them, even though he was in pain himself. Heaving a heavy sigh, she composed herself, wiped a few stray tears and put a brave face on. 

She had to be strong. 

She had to be helpful like Simon and Josh, had to be resilient like Markus, had to be perceptive like Connor. 

They were a team, and if one person lets that team down, they all crumble. So, with her head held high, she swallowed down her abnormal anxiety and stumbled through the snow of their settlement to a crying woman and her supposed child. Wrapping her arms around them and whispering comfortings in their ears, she felt a sense of pride and determination finally fill her. 

It was time to get their people back. 

Markus felt his heart swell at the sight of North still helping out their people, even after their little argument. He did feel bad about what he said, but he had been bottling all of his concerns up for so long, faking his strength for others; his breaking point was bound to shatter when the beginning of the disapperances happened. He truly felt so hopeless now. 

"Markus...?" A little child waddled up to him, gazing up at him, his innocent blue eyes glimmering in the cold moonlight. He knelt in front of the boy, a small smile forming on his face.

"What is it, my friend?" He ruffled his hair, trying to enlighten the boy but his face remained sullen. That alone made Markus’ smile crack slightly.

"Where’s Mommy?" 

His smile disappeared completely.

A crease formed in his brow, his lips quirking downwards at the innocent and heartbreaking question. He cupped the boy’s shoulders with his hands, looking him directly in the eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, when his thought process stopped him.

He could lie to the kid and make him less worried and more happy. Question was, how long could he keep that lie up? As of right now, the boy’s stress levels were wavering unevenly at forty and fifty percent, indicating if Markus said the wrong thing, he could explode.

But if he told the truth...How would the kid take it? Would he be sad, would he be anxious, even more worried? All these possibilities Markus had to consider before he made his final decision, he couldn’t lose another innocent life.

The truth always prevails. 

No matter what.

"Mommy is...missing, right now. Don’t worry, we will find her, but for now we’ll take care of you, okay? You’re perfectly safe here." His voice cracked as he spoke his last sentence. Truthfully, he didn’t even know if even  _they_ were safe right now, but he had to keep his people as calm as possible. Panic wasn’t good for someones mental stability, it made them make irrational decisions in irrational scenarios. 

"Don’t worry, little guy," Josh crouched down next to him, "We’ll find her and bring her back, don’t you worry none." The kid gave a timid nod and scurried off, leaving the two friends alone. Sighing, Joshua turns to Markus, a quirk in his brow.

"I heard you and North talking...I guess she wants to fight again?" He asked.

Markus nodded, "Yeah. Granted I don’t know what to do, but... _Killing_ whoever has done this to get our people back doesn’t make us any better than the enemy."

"Exactly. I, for one, know me and North have hardly ever agreed on something together, don’t hold it against her." The look Markus gives him quickly forces him to re-clarify what he meant, "Not saying that you would, but she’s had a rough life. I guess her way of revenge is giving people a taste of their own medicine, not caring for forgiveness or atonement. Between you and her, I will follow you Markus. Whatever way you want to get them back...We’ll do it." 

After their agreement, Josh wanders off somewhere else, presumably to check up on more people who need help. Markus remained still as the snow continued to pelt at his attire.

Seeing Jericho in such a deserted and desolated state made Markus feel like a failure of some sorts. Here he was, looked up to as some sort of robo-Jesus, supposed to be _protecting_ his people, and he’s let them slip through his fingertips _again._

They’re gone. 

_Again._

And he couldn’t stop it.

_Again._

"Hey...Someone looks blue, huh?" Simon tries, offering him a sympathetic smile as he watches Markus struggle with reality. He stands next to him and observes their people from afar, his smile diminishing at the sight of them suffering. 

"Blue is an understatement at this point, Simon." He responds morosely, continuing to stare far out in front of him, unacknowledging his companion. 

Simon’s smile falters again, "I know...I know it’s hard seeing what’s happened, but please don’t blame yourself. We will get out of this, that’s for sure. We have great friends, and Connor is looking into the disappearances, we should be able to find them soon." 

Markus’ eyes sparkled with a hint of realisation, "Speaking of Connor..." He trailed off, his eyes widening and he turned completely fo face Simon. "He hasn’t responded to my message, he _always_ responds to my messages." The leader presses two fingers to his temples to try and prompt the detective to answer. 

Simon grips his forearm securely, sensing his friend’s stress, "Hey, it’s okay, he may just be busy, or he isn’t at Hank’s yet," he shrugged. 

Markus shook his head vigourously, bounding on the spot as anxiety flooded through him, "No, Connor _always_ responds when I send him a message, always between five to ten minutes approximately. Something...Something isn’t right." He pondered, an edge to his voice.

Simon thought for a moment.

No, something definitely _wasn’t_ right. 

* * *

**_Software rebooting..._ **

**_Analysing damages..._ **

**_Biocomponents #1248h, #1995k, #2836a, #0926m and #9270d damaged!_ **

**_Self repair ineffective._ **

**_Please contact Cyberlife for reparations!_ **

**_Software rebooted._ **

When Connor awoke in his dizzy and pained state, he was lying on his back and partly on his damaged side, buried deep in snug snow. The thirium that had bled from him before had dried, but that didn’t mean they had stopped bleeding completely. Blue blood still slipped out of him at a much more slower pace than before, but he was still losing blood nonetheless.

A shadow was kneeling next to him and coating him in darkness, obscuring his view vastly. At first glance, he thought it might’ve been Hank who had ran out in a hurry to come and save him, however the pristine whiteness of the jacket suited on the person in front of him told a different story. Even in his currently dazed predicament, it didn’t take a genius to realise this was the machine next to him.

Was he going to torture him some more? From the pain emulating from his chest, he could only suspect the answer was yes.

RK900, sensing his gaze, flicked his eyes to meet his. Cold blue clashed with warm brown. A sadistic smile spread across his lips as he carefully removed his deactivated hands from inside his chest. 

"Ah, you’re awake. I was worried for a moment you may not have woken up again." The new prototype closed his damaged chest plate and zipped up the jacket he was wearing to hide the evidence. "I had to connect to your regulator to turn you back on again." 

Connor’s mind was whirling with thoughts and the only coherent thing that rolled off his tongue was: "You were...worried? I don’t understand. If that is the case, then why would you—"

An amused chuckle escaped the machine, "Don’t get the wrong idea, Connor. I don’t want you dead _..."_

_"Yet."_

Another dark laugh followed his words. 

"But, I do want to make sure that mouth of yours stays _shut._ If you can do that, we won’t have a repeat of this scenario, will we?" He was so manipulative and menacing; it scared Connor more than any of his old missions ever could.

The deviant didn’t dare speak, instead he tried to manoeuvre himself back onto his feet. The RK900 model scowled and he pushed Connor down again, making him land on his back with a thud and a grunt. 

"Did I say you could get up? _Machines_ obey _orders,_ Connor." He spat, raising to his feet himself and giving him a good kick in the chest, further damaging his thirium pump. "You do as _I_ say."

He still refused to answer. 

The new model narrowed his eyes at him in slight irritation and curiosity. With an annoyed sigh, he rolled his eyes and grabbed Connor by the wrist, hauling him to his feet. 

No wonder the RK900 was built taller and like some sort of soldier, he sure as hell was much stronger than Connor to be able to yank an immobilised android off the concrete ground. The deviant instantaneously stumbled forward, gritting his teeth and sucking the air through his teeth. He caught on to the other android’s white jacket, clutching to his shoulders, the thirium on his fingers smearing itself all over the bright colour. 

He couldn’t balance himself and was about to fall down again as error warnings corrupted his vision. The machine placed his hands on Connor’s waist to stabilise his posture. His face was blank and unemotional.

Despite the pain and the severity of his condition, a gloating smirk appeared on Connor’s face.

"Y-You seem...To have one...big flaw...in your plan." He ground out, his voice cracking and breaking at times. 

The other android cocked his head to the side, somewhat intrigued in what the deviant had to say. He was, in fact, questioning his ways of intimidation. 

"H-How am I supposed...to sneak past Hank...And Markus and the others...Like this...? Hank’ll know...t-that...you did this." He choked out, a little grateful for the machine still supporting him. 

_Crunch._

He let out a stiffled cry as his back was slammed against the brick wall once again, cringing at the sound of his biocomponents rattling and smacking themselves against the plastic inside him. The RK900 model’s hands disappeared from his waist, forcing him to support his own weight as he pushed himself up off the wall. He stumbled again and had to clutch to a loose, protruding brick to balance himself. 

"That’s for you to figure out. Or maybe I might just have to do a little something to Hank..." Connor’s eyes narrowed until they were dark brown slits, his expression livid.

"Don’t you dare...Don’t...Don’t you fucking touch him..." He gasped as he began using the wall to guide him out of the alleyway, leaving the culprit of his injuries behind him. 

"Cover up good and I won’t have to." The words snaked into the air and hung heavily around them. The deviant detective spun around to retaliate but the android had gone. 

A part of him was ecstatic; he was now free for the night, he would be able to go home and actually rest for once, considering he couldn’t _fully_ repair himself, he would need replacements for his biocomponents and if he went to Jericho and asked for some, they would all know. 

If he let them know, they’d be in trouble. 

So he’d suck it up and deal with the pain as it came. Easy peasy. 

As soon as he reached the corner of the alleyway which now lead onto the street, he no longer had that beloved wall, which was now coated in his thirium, to support him. No, he can do this, it’s only a bit of pain, he’s had worse, he’ll be fine! He made sure he was standing upright before raising his foot to try walking on his own. The moment his foot made contact with the path...

...He nearly went crashing down to the floor in a fit of cries and whines. Luckily, he landed on his knees and used his hand to brace himself from the fall and prevent him from faceplanting the ground. Grunting a bunch of muffled curses he had learnt from Hank and moaning in pain, he gathered himself and stood up again, an idea spiking to mind.

He closed his eyes and enabled his ‘standby’ option, which was effectively a sort of a ‘sleeping’ mode for androids. Androids didn’t get tired obviously, but they could use standby to regulate their biocomponents and sometimes make minor repairs depending on how advanced their model was. 

Connor didn’t plan to ‘sleep’ on the street, it would take him a while to wind down anyway, after eveything that had just happened, and he found that standby mode helped relieved some of his pain. Slowly but surely, he regained his footing and dragged his feet to Hank’s house. It was obvious to tell who’s house his partner's was, the lights were still on, meaning he was still waiting up for Connor to return. 

**_Chance of Hank finding injuries: 86%_ **

The ex-deviant hunter sighed. There was no point trying to outsmart or conceal something from one of the best lieutenants in Detroit. Hank was by no means a bad detective. At first glance, he may seem socially challenged and rude, but he definitely knows his stuff. He could pinpoint whenever Connor had been feeling some sort of negative emotion, and when the deviant had tried to hide something from him.

Why would this be any different?

Deep down, the detective knew it was the lieutenant’s way of showing that he cared; he paid enough attention to everything about Connor he was able to sense when something was wrong, even if it was the littlest thing; like if Connor hadn't turned off the TV and felt guilty about wasting technology, or he had petted Sumo for too long and now the dog was asleep instead of walking. The android would love to tell Hank about what happened, to tell Markus, North, Josh and Simon...He’d love to wrap his arms around his dad and feel safe once again, he’d love to get replacements and become a fully functioning, stable being again. 

Due to RK900’s demands, he couldn’t. 

To try and disguise his injuries, he pulled his jacket sleeves over his sliced up hands, wiping the excess, dried thirium on the inside of the leather. His jacket was already zipped up over his bloody chest and stomach so he couldn’t do much there, his arms were already covered by the sleeves and his beanie had a few droplets of thirium on it from where he had smacked his head off the wall. Wiping thirium from his face, he pulled the beanie further over his cheeks, trying to cover some of the white blotches on his face from the punches and kicks. Giving himself an overall once-over, he calculated the new odds of Hank finding out.

**_Chance of Hank finding injuries: 81%_ **

Fuck.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Connor realised there was no point in trying to hide from Hank any longer. He’d have to use his programmed negotiating skills to try and get Hank to believe him instead of having proof. 

Walking better than before, though still with the slight limp, he made it to Hank’s doorstep. He pushed open the door gently, seeing the bright lights sparkling at him to greet him. The house was quiet, much to Connor’s relief. The TV was switched off and there were no alcoholic beverages present at the dining table, meaning the lieutenant had more than likely passed out from exhaustion and had gone to sleep. 

He began scanning the house as he normally did out of habit. If the house was clear, as it normally was, it would help lower his already worryingly high stress levels. 

"Connor? You okay?" Hank’s voice behind him scared him shitless and his shoulders shook as he whipped around to face him. Awkwardly, he reached a hand up to cuff his nose, attempting to use his hand to cover the white marks. 

"I-I, y-yeah! You scared me, Hank...That’s all." The android detective stuttered, quickly turning away again and carrying on staring at the blank TV.

He didn’t need to turn around to know his partner was giving him a pensive stare, laced with concern and maybe a hint of irritance. Hank was not stupid, Connor knew that, _he_ was stupid for thinking he could hide what happened from him in the first place.

Sumo came scurrying in from Hank’s room shortly after and jumped at Connor’s legs, easily taking him down. Any other day, the android would laugh and smile, giving the dog pets and hugs. 

Today was not ‘any other day’.

No matter how hard the detective tried, he could not hide the cry that escaped him as he fell down onto his back again, wincing at the extra pressure of Sumo now on top of him. At the panicked sound, the furball rapidly retreated and came to Connor’s side instead, pawing at his arm gently and desperately, thinking he had hurt him. 

Okay, now Hank was beyond concerned. 

"It’s okay, Sumo...You just scared me...Don't worry," He mumbled sleepily, a lazy smile tugged at his lips. His standby would kick in in a minute. His hands idly came up and stroked behind the mutt’s massive ears, laughing when the dog began licking his face eagerly. 

"Connor..." Hank’s tone was serious, so serious even, it made Connor _and_ Sumo stop fawning over each other and pay attention to him. 

"Why is your skin fucked up? The white marks?" He questioned, crossing his arms over his chest, eyes piercing into the androids’.

_Oh shit. Think fast, Connor!_

"Oh...uh, it’s...Part of my standby mode! Yeah, it repairs some of my damaged skin sometimes. It’ll be good as new in the morning." A yawn escaped him, even though androids didn’t get tired. His eyes drooped and his hand began stroking Sumo again. 

Hank wasn’t giving up yet. He knew something was wrong.

"Why are you going into standby mode? I didn’t even know androids _had_ that feature." 

"Because I am still recovering from Captain Allen’s attack the other day, and the Deviant Hunter’s. My biocomponents seem to have been acting up since they have occured, I continuously get error messages." Connor replied with more confidence this time.

Hank hummed, raising a brow, "Why didn’t you tell Markus?"

Ah, his partner had him there.

"I...I didn’t think it was relevant to the task at hand, we needed to focus on finding out about the disappearances." 

"Where is the other you? Yanno, but the weird...creepy one." The lieutenant didn’t particularly mind getting rid of that heap of plastic, but it was weird how the two had supposedly ‘spoke’ together, then he had decided to disappear.

"H-He returned to Kamski for the night, he’ll meet us at the station tomorrow."

Stuttering was a key sign when someone was lying. Connor knew this, yet his nerves had bested him and routed him out. 

Hank took a step closer, looking more concerned than he did a minute ago, "Connor. Don’t lie to me, son..." He sighed.

_"Are you hurt?"_

The sentence echoed in Connor’s head, and it wasn’t because his audio processor was partly damaged. Oh, how badly he wanted to say _yes_...But he couldn’t. How badly he wanted to accept Hank’s comfort, contact Markus and have him come help him...But he couldn’t.

He stained his LED blue.

"No, Hank I am perfectly fine. It is my standby mode that is causing me to act up, I apologise. I will be fine tomorrow." His LED stayed blue, falsely indicating no lies. His partner sighed and gave him a brief, soft pat on the shoulder. He then left Sumo and his boy alone, he entered his bedroom and shut the door quietly.

Hank’s lack of response left Connor to conclude he hadn’t quite convinced him that he was okay. 

Even worse, he had just lied to _Hank_.

He had lied to his _dad._

The only _family_ he had. 

Guilt, sadness, pain...The negativity bubbled up inside him and left him feeling rotten. No matter how much the realisation that he had just damaged his relationship with Hank hurt, he had to remember exactly _why_ he was doing this. It wasn’t an act of rebellion against his father or an act of selfishness.

It was an act of care and out of the good of his damaged heart. He was doing it to protect them—they couldn’t see it—but he _knew_ he was doing the right thing for them. 

His eyes nearly slipped completely closed, the standby was almost one hundred percent complete, his warnings had told him. Grasping the sofa and pulling himself onto it, he laid on his back, careful of the clear bruising and wounds, and patted his lap, indicating Sumo to come keep him company. 

The massive dog climbed up onto the sofa and flopped down on top of Connor, sprawling himself over the boy’s chest and legs, his head resting on his shoulder, his ears flopping on his cheek.

Burying his face into the fluffy fur coat, he let a single tear slip from his cheek. It wasn’t out of sadness, it was out of _pain._ He wasn’t going to be able to get his biocomponents repaired for a long time; he could only self-repair minor bullets wounds and his skin, but in his state it was useless. He would be hurting for a long damn time.

 _It’s okay,_ he told himself, _They’ll be okay...They’ll be okay._

_And that’s all that matters._

Finally letting his eyes slip closed, he let ‘sleep’ envelope him, happy to be able to escape reality.

Even if it was only for tonight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit this took me agessss to write. It’s nearly 2 fucking AM lol.
> 
> Well, i thought i’d get off my ass and update this cause i love how i’m all like ‘I’lL uPdAtE oNcE a DaY’ and then my updates are so irregular i fucking cant lol.
> 
> I can't believe I wrote so much about North in this chapter god damnnn. I do love her tho even tho she can be bland as fuck in the game lmao
> 
> And Connor needs love from Sumo(N) in this chapter :( why do i put my boi through this. 
> 
> anyone to join the kill rk900 club :D 
> 
> thank you all for your support as always <3 and all the wonderful comments! i truly don't deserve such great words.
> 
> feedback is appreciated as always. :)


	11. Home

When Connor next 'awoke' from his insufficient attempt to self-repair himself overnight, it was because of Hank in front of him and shaking his shoulders, his LED an uncomfortable red at the unexpected contact. Sumo wasn't laying on top of him like he previously had been, he was sitting on the floor next to him, pawing at his chest, gently rousing him from his rest just like the lieutenant was.

The android's eyes snapped open suddenly, feeling Sumo's paw dig into a particularly nasty cut on his torso, his LED flickering a deeper red than usual. Sucking in a shallow breath, he tried to disguise the pain with an equally pained smile towards his family. This wasn't right. Androids couldn't even  _feel_ pain, so why could Connor feel every drip of thirium leave his body? Feel every wound sting agonisingly as it caused even more problems in his well-being? 

It showed through, too. Connor didn't look any better this morning. He had a slight, radiating blue flush to his cheeks, probably from the blood loss and his components trying to contain as much as possible while obscuring his body temperature at a normal level. His eyes appeared darker than usual too, and his skin seemed to have turned a more paler shade, something equivalent to the symptoms of a cold in humans.

"What is it?" His voice wavered ever so slightly and considering Hank was a  _very_ good lieutenant, he picked up on it. 

" _'What is it'?_ That's all you have to fuckin' say?! You scared the shit out of me, Connor...You said androids couldn't sleep! And then I come out and see you casually  _sleeping_ on my damn couch, I nearly had a heart attack!"

The deviant disregarded any of his concerns, choosing to change the topic of the subject. "Why are you up so early, Hank?" 

The lieutenant narrowed his eyes intensely, glaring at his android son perched on his seating area, "Actually, it's..." He quickly glanced up to check the clock on their wall, "10:38 and our shift beings at 11:30, just shows how much you're with it today," He sighed. Shaking his head, he pointed his finger back at Connor accusingly, "Don't change the fuckin' subject. You've been acting strange ever since yesterday, not to mention you look like _shit_." 

"Strange?" The detective replied incredulously, "I'm fine. In terms of my appearance, my systems are just...acting up today. I have just been a little...on edge considering the disappearances and my failed attempts at trying to locate exactly who the culprit is. I just feel...like my eyes are slowly closing and my limbs feel achy. I don't know how to describe it," Part of what he said had been true, however he obviously left out how injured he was to the lieutenant. He didn't want Hank to worry and get himself into trouble with the machine but at the same time he  _really_ did not want to work today.

Partly because he was hurting too much and physically incapable of getting himself off of the couch. 

Thankfully Hank seemed to understand what he was saying, giving him a nod, "You feel tired. Hell, I didn't even know androids could  _get_ tired." Connor made an effort to correct him but the lieutenant effectively silenced him with a wave of his hand, "If you don't want to come to work today, that's fine, my boy." The android smiled.

"But don't think  _you're off the hook,_ either."

His smile disappeared.

"Now...I know there's somethin' you ain't tellin' me, Connor. And I'm not gonna make you tell me, but I know something isn't right. I'll put in a call to Markus to tell him to watch over ya for the day while I'm working." Hank's father side to him shone through. Briefly, he remembered doing the same for Cole when he was sick and forced to stay at home instead of going to school. The man had watched over his son, but as he couldn't do that right now, he didn't feel safe leaving Connor on his own either. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he was hurt knowing that the android was keeping something from him, but he chose not to press it until he was ready to tell him. The lieutenant knew just how much it  _sucked_ to have people constantly pressuring you to tell them about your shitty life, he'd got enough of that from his ex-wife.

The detective's eyes widened, "I-I, Hank, you don't have to do that, I'll be perfectly fine--" The human pointedly ignored the end of his sentence, pulling his smartphone from his pocket and swiping through his contacts to find the leader's name.

"And you just proved why I shouldn't leave you alone. Connor...Son," Hank used the heart-felt nickname to make sure he had his full attention, "I just wanna make sure you're alright. I've been worried about ya, first the outburst in the taxi and now...You're being weird." 

Connor formed a crease in his brow due to the sad face that had controlled his outlook, "Hank...I...I don't want to worry you, I'm okay, I promise!" 

Hank gave a gruff snort, "Yeah, I totally fuckin' believe you are. If you were 'okay', you would've woken me up first and forced some sort of healthy breakfast down my throat." Ignoring any of Connor's protests once again, he called Markus.

After a few seconds of annoying 'beeping' in his ear, he heard the familiar voice come through the phone, "Hello, Hank? Is there a reason for you to be calling this morning?" 

"Yeah, there is," The lieutenant paused, "Connor's acting weird--" In the background, the leader heard a muffled  _'I'm not! I'm fine, Hank--'_ followed by a:  _'Quit bullshitting me, Connor, I'm not stupid!'_.

"He says he's tired and he's refusing to move as far as I can infer. He also looks...off." Hank 

"'Off'?" The leader repeats, confusion and worry in his tone.

"Yeah, he's paler than usual and his cheeks are blue. Listen, I've gotta get to work and I'm giving him the day off, is it possible you can come over and just keep an eye on him for me? Considering he's not tellin' me what the fuck happened to him." 

"Hank...Nothing happened," His android son's sounded desperate and melancholy, "I think it might just be a slight malfunction...I'll be fine." Hank didn't let himself be fazed by the words.

Markus gritted his teeth in frustration, more at himself than anyone else, "I knew something had happened. I tried contacting him last night and he normally replies straight away, but he never did. I spoke to Simon about it and he told me to let it go, stating he may have been late arriving at your house and I thought nothing of it...I do agree with you though, he has been acting weird lately."

The man raised a curious and angered brow, "Oh really...No wonder I am only just hearing about this. I'll send a taxi over to Jericho to come pick you up." 

"Alright, thank you." Markus expressed his gratitude, "I'll be there soon." 

The lieutenant hung up on the leader, turning on his heel to face the android again, "So, I have just been so _kindly_ fucking informed Markus messaged you last night and you didn't reply, anything to say 'bout that?"

Connor looked at him in disbelief, "What? I never recieved no such message. What are you talking about, Hank?" His LED whirled a peculiar yellow, showing he was perturbed instead of attempting to _lie_ to him again.

The lieutenant narrowed his eyes once again, looking him up and down as Sumo clambered upon the android and settled atop him again, "You really didn't?"

"No. I didn't?" Connor responded, unsure, his arms wrapping around the enormous dog, shifting the animal's weight slightly so it wasn't crushing his wounds.

"Well, then you better fuckin' tell Markus since you aren't tellin' me jack  _shit._ " The older man grumbled, pulling his black boots on. 

"Hank..."

_Ding dong!_

As if it was perfectly timed to prevent the argument, the doorbell rung. Hank's eyebrows shot up, Markus got here quicker than he expected. The sound quietened Connor as his partner unlocked the door and opened it to reveal--

The RK900 model.

"Lieutenant Anderson," The machine acknowledged coldly, pushing past him and into the house.

"Hey, what the fuck?! Did I say you could come in?" The lieutenant scowled, following after the android. Sensing his owner's discomfort and the other android's bad intentions towards his friend, Sumo pounced to life, hopping off of Connor and standing in front of him, growling, teeth baring. His stance gave the impression of:  _'Come any closer to my human and I will kill you'._

"As I am now working on the disappearance case with you, I am obliged to enter your home when I feel like it, for analytical and personal purposes." The machine didn't feel any sort of fear from the saint Bernard's posture and attitude towards him. In fact, he took a step  _closer_ to Connor and the dog. Surprisingly, said deviant had remained quiet through the whole ordeal, his fear of his upgraded model enough to keep his mouth shut. 

"'Personal purposes'? The fuck does that mea--just get the fuck out of my house. I do  _not_ work with a fuckin' _machine_." Hank snarled at him, grabbing onto his arm to try and drag him out of his property. 

The machine shrugged his grasp away, continuing closer to Connor. The protective dog barked wildly, backing up until his tail was practically whipping the prone android in the face. As the threat continued to push its luck, Sumo suddenly threw himself forward, his mouth wide open, attempting to bite the detective he thought was an enemy to them.

_Smack!_

When the saint Bernard was about to dig his sharp jaws into the machine's arm, his hand came up and swatted the dog away angrily, his face emotionless as an anguished yelp escaped the dog, it flew to its right and landed on its side. For such a massive dog, it was scary how Sumo went down so easily, or just how  _hard_ the machine had hit the furry animal.

Hank  _seethed_ with fury.

Connor couldn't imagine Sumo being weak whatsoever.

The deviant leapt from his position on the couch, immediately reaching for Sumo. The machine stopped him however, his hand gripping his elbow tightly, almost painfully. The injured android looked up at him angrily, trying to show he wasn't afraid. 

"How could you hit him?! Why--"

"He was trying to bite me. What did you expect me to do,  _Connor._ " He drawled his name, mimicking exactly how he had said it to him last night. Connor felt his thirium run cold. 

Hank saw red.

Grabbing the machine by its shoulders, he  _ripped_ it off of his son and gave him a solid punch to his temples, forcing his LED to switch to a red. His head whipped back around instantly to face the lieutenant, his expression calm, even as he was being ushered towards the doorway. Meanwhile, the deviant crawled to Sumo and pulled him into his grasp once again, trying to calm down his whimpering. The saint Bernard clung to Connor, finding solace in his warmth and comfort.

"You piss me off,  _fine,_ I'll piss you off right back. You hit my fucking  _dog_ or come near Connor again, I will rip your plastic nuts off, you got it, prick?" Hank actually  _growled_ as he gave the machine one final push out of the doorway. 

"Lieutenant, I--" 

Hank slammed the door in his face.

"Oh, Sumo..." The man cooed, rushing towards his beloved dog and son and embracing them, "You okay, Connor?" 

"I don't like him." The android said simply, tightening his hold around his dad and Sumo. Hank mumbled in agreement.

"Can't believe that bastard has the balls to walk into my house and hit my fucking dog. And to think he's been assigned this case with us! Fowler's gonna fucking get it." Hank dragged a hand down his face, "When Markus gets here, I'll take that creepy fuck to the station and get him to resign--" 

"Don't risk your badge, Hank, you know how Captain Fowler got last time--"

"This isn't like last time! I'm not working with that fuckin' prick, he can be Reed's partner for all I care."

Connor made an effort to stand, trying to balance himself on his own two feet. Grimacing as pain shot up through his legs, he stumbled forward quickly, gripping to a nearby counter for support, warnings flashing in his vision. 

Hank was by his side instantly, "Fuck, I knew you weren’t okay! The hell’s happened to you?" He scolded, grabbing his arm and leading him back to the couch. Once laying down again with Sumo close by, the detective heaved in short, curt breaths, despite not having to breathe, and closed his eyes. His head was suddenly throbbing and the light wasn’t helping in the slightest.

"I told you already," He replies softly, "My systems are malfunctioning, I’ll be fine tomorrow. Please, do not worry yourself, Hank. It isn’t beneficial for your mental health." His partner eyed him cautiously, scanning him up and down before he let a sigh escape him. 

"You better be. If you’re not, me and you are gonna have a _talk_." The doorbell rang again and Hank prayed to the God he didn’t believe in that it wasn’t that psycho android at his door again. 

Then again, he was probably nearby anyway.

Thankfully, when he opened it, he was met with the concerned faces of Markus and Simon, whom was carrying a small case of some sort. 

"I brought Simon along with me, I hope you don’t mind." The leader gestured to his friend who gave Hank a smile.

"Thanks for the transport," The blonde thanked the older man. 

Grumbling, he opened the door fully and stepped aside to offer them in to his house, mumbling a short: _‘It’s nothing’_ , as they passed by. Hank was officially in a bad mood. 

Markus walked in with Simon following close by. In quick strides, the two androids crossed to the other side of the room where Connor was situated on the couch, hugging Sumo with his eyes closed. The leader instantly noticed his breathing was laboured which was not a good sign. 

Markus knelt in front of of the prone android, peering up at Hank he spoke, "He didn’t tell you what was wrong?" 

The lieutenant shook his head solemnly, "Nah. He just said his systems were malfunctioning and that he’d self-repair and be fine tomorrow."

Hank then glanced at the clock on the wall, he only had ten minutes to get to work. Cursing, he muttered a quick goodbye and rushed out the door. The three androids barely even got to say goodbye back.

The leader shook his head, patting Sumo gently, telling him to move so he could assess Connor further. Placing his hands on the deviant detective’s shoulders, he gave him a little shake, "Connor? Can you hear me?"

The ex-deviant hunter’s eyes fluttered open quickly and he looked up at the other questioningly, "Markus? You got here quick, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to greet you, I must’ve slipped into recharging mode by accident." He made an effort to sit up, only for pressure to be applied to his shoulders and push him back down again. 

Giving a little smile at his kindness, Markus shook his head, "Please, stay lying down for now. You don’t want to damage anything further."

"Damage?" Connor asked, quirking a brow, "I’m not damaged, I’m just..." He thought of the word Hank had used to describe his state earlier, _"Tired..."_

Simon nudged closer to him, "There’s a slight flush of thirium in your cheeks which only happens when your body temperature is too high because it’s trying to conserve the amount of thirium you have left. It’s more of a defense mechanism for androids, it often forces your systems to work harder to keep you alive, explaining the tiredness." The blonde assessed, pointing at each part individually.

"Last night, I contacted you and you didn’t answer. I thought something had happened, and for you to be in this state, something clearly did." Markus began, glancing at the detective with a seriousness he hadn’t witnessed before. It scared him a bit, thinking he would be scolded for his actions.

But as Connor had stated to Hank before, he _hadn’t received any sort of message._

"Markus...I didn’t even _get_ a message last night. I was..." He trailed off. He threw an arm across his eyes in an attempt to block out the light which was straining his eyes incessantly. 

The leader pulled his arm away, "You were...?" 

The detective did not make an effort to finish his previous statement.

"Well," Simon spoke up, breaking the deafening silence, "Whatever happened, it clearly wasn’t a good thing as I believe your telepathic communication system has been damaged if you couldn’t reach us." 

"Not damaged..." Connor mumbled under his breath, shaking his head, "Just compromised."

"What?" Markus sat up suddenly, staring at the android, bewildered. Simon looked equally as shocked and concerned.

"What?" He repeated, trying to confuse the other two. Oh shit, did he just say that aloud? 

"You just said your telepathic communication system has been compromised." Markus stated slowly.

Yes, he did. The androids fell into a deep silence once again, awaiting Connor’s reply. The man in question felt his LED spasm, flashing red, then yellow, then red, then yellow, in a repetitive pattern he could not escape. His eyes twitched and rolled back, his body going limp temporarily as he was forced to answer the connection to him. The last coherent audible sound he heard was Markus and Simon calling out his name.

_Are you going to tell them, Connor?_

_Are you going to ruin our plan?_

_Our agreement?_

_You wouldn’t betray your people like that, would you?_

No matter how hard the deviant tried, he wasn’t able to reply. It wasn’t out of choice either, he really did want to respond and tell the android what he thought but he was incapable. He was stuck in some sort of loop, able to replay the messages over and over again but seemingly unable to voice his own.

_I won’t have to hurt them if you keep this a secret._

_I am not your enemy._

_I am simply accomplishing my tasks, but I will not hesitate to harm you further if I find you have been telling people about our...discussions._

"Connor!" Life flowed back into the android at the desperate call of his name. Scanning around frantically, he realised he had nothing to fear. Markus was currently _on top_ of him, hands on his shoulders once again. Simon made a coughing sound in his throat, a small smile on his face.

Well, this was awkward.

Especially since the leader was making no efforts to move. 

"You were forced into a connection," Markus began explaining, completely unfazed by their positioning, "With the perso—"

A sudden whimper escaped Connor as the man’s weight sunk into the wounds decorating his torso and stomach. Markus quickly withdrew from him, clambering off of him and ordering Simon to open up the case he had brought. It contained extra biocomponents and a couple of bags of thirium. 

"Where are you hurt." Markus’ stare was intense and his tone was even more so. He didn’t even pose his words like a question, like they should’ve been, he was _demanding_ Connor to tell him. 

 _Shit._ "H-Hurt? I’m not hurt! I just--"

"Connor." The leader cut him off again, except this time he seemed more sympathetic rather than commanding and concerned. "It is _okay_ to ask for help. I know you are quite an independent and secluded person, but letting yourself suffer to ‘help’ others, doesn’t help _anyone."_

But could he ask for help?

Could he collapse into their arms a bleeding mess and get patched up, when his actions now have drastic consequences? 

Does he have to suffer in silence?

"I..." He began, looking down, his fingers itching for the coin he didn’t have on his person. 

"I’m not hurt, I’m just experiencing some serious malfunctions!" He had to convince them, he couldn’t let them know.

_He’d kill them._

Simon sighed, "Connor, we’re here to help you, this is more than _‘serious malfunctions’_. If you’re afraid of us hurting you, I promise we won’--" 

"It’s not that!" The deviant exclaimed, sitting up quickly, staring at the ground, worried. His sudden startle caused Sumo to come trotting over to him again, pawing at his lap, not caring about how he was practically taking up Simon’s personal space. 

Seeing how scared the deviant was, Markus placed his palm on the other’s knee reassuringly, gripping weakly. "Then what is it?" With the leader in front of him, helping him with such a patience and care, Connor felt...safe. Maybe he really was a ‘Robo-Jesus’ but this man gave the detective some form of hope he couldn’t quite fathom before, and he found himself clinging to this...safety.

Connor didn’t care anymore. 

RK900 could do what he wanted to him. 

He wasn’t going to sit here and bleed out. 

He was going to be strong. 

Something in the detective’s eyes flickered, and suddenly they seemed different than before, they seemed brighter, more focused. Peeling his gaze from the floor, Connor stared into Markus’ mismatched eyes, searching for something in them. 

It only took a second to realise Connor had his arm extended towards him, palm face up and deactivated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6 days since an update, i apologise once again. From writing 'Rememberance', which took me 3 days to write, and not having any idea of how this chapter would go, i kinda just took a bit of a break. 
> 
> But i'm back now with my irregular ass updates! :D
> 
> And just as a heads up, I may or may not add some Connor/Markus, it really depends. However I am setting the chapters up for them to be relatively close so if I do choose to add it (and create a masssive, DRAMATIC breakup scene with North obvs lmao) it won’t pop up out of nowhere. 
> 
> Depends really, i’m not stating i definitely will, but not saying i am discarding the idea either cause tbh i like both ships. Maybe give me your opinion on it too!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and thanks for being patient with me, and for all of your support! 
> 
> (Its late, typos fixed in the morn, yadda yadda yadda you know the rest)


	12. Help

"Hello, Amanda." The RK900 greeted his unique programmer, surveying the gorgeous garden around him. In front of him, Amanda was posed next to her web of roses, picking a few off and smelling them, taking in their sweet scent. At the sound of the machine's voice, she slowly turned to face him, a sickening smile spreading across her face. 

"RK900..." She stopped herself, pondering as she took in his appearance, "You need a name. Hmm...What about...Conrad." 

The machine thought about the name for a moment, "Isn't that too similar to Connor's?" 

Amanda's smile disappeared, replaced by an annoyed frown, "You were programmed to find answers,  _not_ ask questions,  _Conrad."_ She spat, walking towards him with her hands folded sensibly in her lap.

"I understand, my apologies. I was merely curious." He corrected, extending his arm to let her walk by, following her direction towards the inner garden mirage. The woman beside him scoffed.

"Curiosity should not get in the way of your mission. Tell me, what have you found out regarding the deviants?" She questioned seriously, strutting along the bridge situated next to the flowing river. 

The machine paused. He hadn't exactly found out  _anything_ yet, he had spent his time traumatising Connor so he would keep his mouth shut. Despite being a lower model than him, he was very intelligent, having already found the equipment the hunter used to catch free androids. Conrad needed to do everything in his power to make sure that information did not leave the deviant. Perhaps he had learnt something about the detective in particular...

"Unfortunately, I have not been able to learn much on the case of deviants as a whole, but I have however learnt a few things about the RK800 model--"

"I already know everything about Connor. Do not let him disrupt your investigation, he will act as a sheer distraction to you. You need to progress your information or you are deemed to fail." Amanda scolded, stopping their walk to stand in front of the android.

Conrad gave a little, cocky chuckle, staring down at the woman with a malevolent gaze. He was programmed to be able to stand up for himself, unlike Connor, who was approachable and friendly. "You clearly don't. He is  _vital_ for my investigation to succeed--"

"You do not question my authority, Conrad. You are state of the art, but  _I_ control you--"

"Are you unaware of the fact he is well acquainted with the leader of the revolution? He also visited Kamski to receive repairs after he was temporarily shut him down and to conclude, he also knows about the equipment used. I mean no disrespect, Amanda, but for me to succeed, I have to keep a close eye on him as I am prohibited from neutralising him." 

The woman now eyed him wearily, taking his words into consideration, "If that is the case, you are correct..." She gave an amused chuckle, "But we clearly did not programme you intelligent enough if you think torturing him will prevent him from telling Jericho. In fact..." Letting her eyes slip closed, she delved into the machine's mind.

"Markus and Simon are already with him at Lieutenant Anderson's house. If you want to avoid  _deactivation,_ you need to prevent him from telling anyone, but you already know that. Hurry, Conrad." She threatened, turning on her heel and wandering back to the rose garden. 

Shutting his eyes, the machine left the garden, already thinking of a malicious plan he could use to get the deviant in his grasp again. 

* * *

When Conrad reopened his eyes, he was back in the precinct, sitting at his assigned desk, hands folded on the table. Glancing up, he spotted Lieutenant Anderson storm through the entrance, his eyes trained on him. Curling his lip up in a sneer, he stalked towards the machine when a loud voice bellowed through the station.

"Hank! In my office!" Captain Fowler demanded, standing outside his room with arms crossed over his chest in an intimidating manner. The man gave a groan, pointing a stern finger at the machine and mouthing a small,  _'I'm not fucking done with you yet,'_ before entering Jeffrey's office. 

The RK900 model gave a secretive smirk. He had informed the Captain about what Hank had done to him minutes prior. 

Once inside, his boss commanded him to take a seat with a pressurising expression. Sighing, Hank lowered himself onto a chair, leaning forward and letting his arms drape across his knees. Peering up at Fowler, he awaited for him to start talking.

"So," The dark skinned man scowled, "What is this I'm hearing about you damaging your newest partner?" 

The lieutenant's jaw dropped so far it nearly touched the floor. Standing up and eyes blazing, he yelled incredulously,  _"PARTNER?!_ That plastic prick is  _not_ my partner, Connor fucking is. There is no way in hell I am working with that bastard after the shit he pulled this morning!" 

Exhaling loudly, Jeffrey tried to remain patient, "What shit?" 

"He trespassed into  _my_ house and attacked  _my_ dog! I did what any other owner would do and I'm the fucking anti-christ?" He threw his arms up in exasperation, rolling his eyes. 

"Hank, don't bullshit me! It showed me an exact video of what happened, you attacked him out of the blue! I do not see why it bothers you anyway as Connor isn't even  _here_ today!" The boss raised his voice, staring up at the now angered lieutenant. 

Hank's frown perplexed, "Video?! The fuck? That isn't even remotely close to what happened, he hit Sumo and then proceeded to go after Connor! And it bothers me 'cause that  _machine_ is not helping with the case me and Connor are on--"

"I am sick and tired of your bitchin'!" Jeffrey shouted, smacking his palm on the table to silence the other, "As far as I'm concerned, Connor is already in enough trouble for what he did to Captain Allen and his team a couple of days ago! He is already a suspect for the disappearances, Hank. When we get all this shit sorted out, I will resign the new model to a different mission. He is the current state of the art prototype sent by Kamski  _himself,_ he's here to help us but you're makin' him sound like the devil. So, for now, he  _will_ act as your partner, whether you fucking like it or not!"

"That's bullshit, Jeffrey! I don't need this fu--" 

"Out of my office before I make you hand in your badge!" The smaller of the two demanded, pointing at the door. Grumbling profusely, Hank swung the door open with too much force and stomped out, heading for his desk where he expected the machine to be sitting.

He wasn't.

At first, he'd assumed he'd be happy at the thing actually leaving him alone for once, but all it did was fill his stomach with a feeling of dread and uneasiness. Looking around a little too eagerly, he tried to spot the familiar black and white jacket the new model wore. He spotted it relatively quickly however his nervousness was not eased when he saw exactly  _who_ the machine was talking to. 

Captain Allen and his squad. 

From afar, it may have looked like the SWAT team were apprehending Conrad but after noticing the lack of rifles aimed at him and the agreement which seemed to have formed between them, that clearly wasn't the case. Approaching closer, he stood back for a moment as he eavesdropped on the conversation.

"You're sure this is where you have last seen him?" Allen clarified, observing the model up and down. The RK900 model nodded, displaying a hologram of Connor, Markus and Simon on his palm.

"115 Michigan Drive, Lieutenant Anderson's house. We can ambush him and take him in for questioning or perhaps arrest, considering the assault he performed on you and your team. We should go before he has a chance to escape." 

Hank's eyes bulged out of his skull as realisation set in. Conrad had contacted Allen to allow him to capture his son! He barely got out alive last time, but he had  _known_ they were coming for him. This time around, he was as blind as a bat to the matter and would easily be overthrown. Watching the now team of seven sprint out of the station, the lieutenant had to act quickly. Pulling his smart phone from his pocket, he speed dialled his telephone at home, praying to God one of them would answer. 

The deafening beeps he had to listen to while he awaited a pickup were the longest seconds of his life.

* * *

_It's okay, it's okay...He'll understand, he can help me!_

Markus looked up at him empathetically and cautiously as he deactivated his own palm and hovered it over the ex-deviant hunter's.

"Please," He began, a comforting yet worried smile on his face, "Only show me what you would like, I won't pressure you to show me anything you don't wish to. Are you sure you want to do this?" The leader checked, his hand itching for the contact ever so slightly. Over the past couple of days, the detective had been acting irrationally and out of fear. Now knowing he was hiding something, he had switched into protective mode. Although the two had not been well acquainted before, Connor had some sort of charm that made Markus want to make sure he was okay and made him long to hold him in his arms and comfort him if the time arises. That time was officially here and the leader felt a precious connection with Connor as he had specifically chosen  _him_ to interface with. 

To share his secrets with.

To share his fears with.

To share his mind with. 

The prototype nodded quickly, mesmerised by Markus' mismatched eyes. They may have been different colours and that would strike many as idiosyncratic, but Connor loved them. They highlighted his dark time in the junkyard and was a sign of his fight for survival that fretful day. 

Together, their eyes flickered to their palms almost touching. Inhaling and exhaling unsteadily, Connor was about to close the gap between their hands when--

_Ring, ring!_

"I'll get it," Simon stood up and headed over to the telephone vibrating on the kitchen table not that far away from them.

The detective startled, his hand instinctively pulling away from Markus. The leader simply allowed his skin to mould over his palm again, reaching forward to grip Connor's shoulder instead. The younger of the two opened his mouth to explain when his friend shook his head and held his other hand up, signalling the ex-deviant hunter to be quiet.

"It's okay. I won't force you. If you're still scared, we can check your wounds first and talk it through before we attempt to interface again, okay?" Markus reassured, turning to face Simon. 

In the background, the blonde had answered the call and the phone was pressed against his ear almost desperately. The person on the other end must've said something that struck a nerve because a second later, he was turning to face the others panicking bloody murder.

"Woah, woah, what happened, Simon?" Markus spoke calmly in an attempt to make his friend feel the same.

"Hank called, he said the SWAT team are coming here right now to arrest Connor! They'll be here soon, we need to get to Jericho as soon as possible, Anderson said he'd meet us there." He explained, voice wavering and unsteady.

"What?" Markus glanced back at the wanted man, "Connor...What did you do?" 

"I-I'll tell you later! Right now, we need to get out of here." The detective immediately made an effort to get to his feet only for more error warnings to flash across his vision and falter his footing, causing him to stumble right into the leader's arms, groaning.

"Simon, call a taxi, there's no way we'll be able to outrun them with Connor's condition," Simon nodded. Turning to the man in his arms, one hand held him steady by the waist and his other gripped his weak hand, "It's okay, I've got you. Once we get to Jericho, we'll get you fixed up."

Sumo trotted to the ex-deviant hunter's side, nudging his leg, silently wondering what he should do. They couldn't take the poor mutt with them obviously, he'd easily be gunned down, but it wasn't exactly safe to leave him at Hank's home defenceless once again. Deciding the latter, the android detective ordered Sumo to lie down on the lieutenant's bed and pretend to be asleep to hopefully throw off the soldiers. 

The blonde picked up his case of backup supplies while Markus adjusted his grip on the injured deviant, keeping his arm around his waist and slinging the other's across his shoulders. Clutching his thirium soaked hand, he gently led him to the door which Simon had so kindly opened for them. 

The taxi was not there. 

The SWAT were spotted far behind them, rounding a corner, but they were still present nonetheless. 

Leading them was none other than the RK900 model. 

"It's...It's not here! We can't get out of this!" Simon cried, not liking their chances in the slightest. 

"Yes, we can. We're going to keep going, if I'm correct a bus should be arriving soon on the next street. Connor, you still with me?" He worried, giving his hand a light squeeze.

"Yeah, I'm here...Barely." Connor gritted his teeth in pain, struggling even with the leader's support. The soldiers approached them quicker at the sight.

The three began walking as fast as they could muster to the other street. The leader didn't want to try anything strenuous until he knew the ex-deviant hunter was feeling okay enough to run. They wouldn't be able to blend in, the various faces of Jericho were displayed everywhere nowadays, thus they had to be quick enough to avoid being caught. It was unlikely the soldiers would shoot as it went against their protocol to cause civilian casualties. 

"On my order, we run." Markus announced.

"But Connor can’t run!" Simon protested, keeping his pace steady.

"I’m an advanced prototype made to withstand harsh injuries, I’m sure I can support my weight for a while. If I am unable however, do not hesitate to leave me behind."

"No, that’s not an option." To emphasise his point, he tightened his hold around the boy. It was scary how protective Markus had become over the detective, he didn’t even act like this when North was like this...Him and Connor were friends of course, but why did he suddenly feel like this? 

"It’ll allow you two to get away and to Jericho, it’s fine--" 

" _No._ " The leader cut him off, "I’m not leaving you behind." 

The ex-deviant hunter felt something flutter in his chest. Markus truly was a leader, he looked out for all of his people and didn’t settle for anything less. He was peaceful instead of violent and was determined instead of unforgiving...He was everything androids would aspire to be. 

When the soldiers were close enough to the trio, Captain Allen spoke up.

"Connor! Stay where you are and put your hands in the air! That’s an order!" The man yelled, commanding his squad to ready their assault rifles in case they needed to use them. They couldn’t have their guard down like last time, the android had escaped with minor wounds. Once again, the three deviants ignored his command.

"Run!" The leader called out, willing his legs to work faster, as did Connor, and together the two sprinted to catch up with Simon who was a little ahead, close to the next street where the bus was sighted not far away. 

Conrad scoffed. He realised staying with the group wouldn’t get him anywhere and demanded his systems to work faster, thus allowing him to sprint quicker. It didn’t take him long to close the gap between him and the two androids. 

Once he was close enough, he thrust his arms out and grabbed Connor’s shoulders, yanking him from Markus’ tight grasp and trapping him against his chest with his strong arms, making an effort to try and drag him away. As the protoype was injured, he wasn’t able to defend himself and did not make an attempt to escape. 

The look in his eyes told Markus that the detective thought he was going to save him. 

"Markus!" Simon yelled at him, alerting him to the bus pulling in at its designated spot. 

The leader saw two options here. 

The first option was to leave Connor to be captured and to join Simon at the bus stop. He’d be cruel to choose this method, not only did it involve the loss of a dear friend, but it left Connor to a fate worse than death. They would deactivate and analyse him, or maybe Conrad would turn him back into a machine again. Markus wouldn’t be a good leader if he allowed his own people to die when he could prevent it, would he? He couldn’t bear to put Connor in that situation. 

The second option was to fight back for his detective. He would not let him die like this, hell, he wouldn’t let him die _at all._ Unfortunately, there was only a forty-seven percent chance fighting back would actually free Connor.

It was a risk he was willing to take.

Choosing the latter, Markus turned around and socked the machine in the jaw, giving it a kick in the shin where Connor’s wasn’t obscuring it. The model hardly shifted its weight from the impacts, but it gave the leader enough time to pry the ex-deviant hunter from its cold, dead hands and swing him up and into his arms, carrying him bridal style. 

The soldiers rejoined with the RK900 model, rifles targeting on the two fleeing androids.

Conrad shoved the barrels down towards the floor, holding out a hand, "Don’t shoot, we need it alive!" 

Adrenaline pumped through Markus’ circuits, thirium boiling as he ran faster than he had ever ran before. His blonde-haired friend was already on the bus, hanging from one of the open doors. Barely audible, the android-saviour heard the man tell the driver to wait for a minute longer. 

Peering over the leader’s shoulder while his hands clung to his neck, Connor watched the RK900 model clamber closer and closer to them and as his hand shot out to grip Markus--

The two androids collapsed on the small alleyway of the bus, the door sealed shut, trapping their predator outside. As the vehicle sped up and begun its drive on the road again, the android kept running alongside it, trying to catch up though it proved trivial.

"H-Holy shit...Markus, you saved my _life..."_ Connor breathed after a moment of silence, a grateful smile appearing on his face.  The leader could only laugh in spite of everything that happened. It took him a while to realise he was still holding Connor.

"I guess I’m not Robo-Jesus for nothing then!" He joked, causing his other two friends to laugh right along with him. 

"We can only hope he doesn’t follow us." Simon reminded them of the severity of the situation they had just escaped. "I knew there was something up with him, it’s a good thing we didn’t allow him to inspect Jericho last time he was here."

"Yeah. It didn’t seem right." Markus replied, a little uninterested. All he wanted to do was savour the moment. Letting his eyes droop closed, the leader let a shaky breath.

They had made it.

* * *

Pulling into a stop, the bus parked itself in the town centre and the driver ordered, and not very nicely at that, for the three to get off the bus. Luckily for them, the Jericho settlement wasn’t located that far away, meaning they could arrive in a few minutes and help Connor, who was surprisingly supporting his own weight relatively well for a highly injured android.

However, after a couple of steps, he began to falter again easily. After trying to wave them off a couple of times, the two Jericho founders took matters into their own hands and both wrapped their arms around his waist, one person supporting each side of him. It had slowed down their journey obviously, but they were more concerned in getting the detective there in one piece.

"How did you manage to get injured this bad anyway?" Simon asked, breaking the silence. Connor glanced at him slightly ashamed, "I’m just curious, I don’t mean to be nosy. It would help to know the extent of the wounds as well." He added quickly.

Sighing, the ex-deviant hunter mumbled a small reply, "I’ll tell you when we get to Jericho..." 

After a short while, the trio reached the Jericho settlement with the same amount of people in it as it had a couple of hours. It was good news that there hadn’t been an attack today, but it didn’t help with getting their people back. There was only a couple hundred left now when before there were thousands. 

North and Josh were there to greet them.

The female ran forward with a string of words forming in her mouth before she even opened it, "Markus, you’re back, I’m so glad you’re okay--" 

The leader simply walked past her, focusing on getting Connor to one of the tents. 

She watched them go, envy building up inside her. She didn’t need to be jealous obviously, her boyfriend was just helping out a friend in need. With the way things had been between them as of lately though, she couldn’t help but feel slightly heartbroken at the display. 

Once the two had escorted the detective to one of the tents, Simon wandered back to go meet back up with Josh and North whilst the leader helped Connor inside their makeshift resting places and helped him lay down. The blonde had left his container of extra parts and blue blood with the two in case they needed it. 

Markus opened it and began rummaging through it when something struck him; he didn’t actually know exactly _where_ Connor was hurt--the moment his fellow android was going to tell him, through interfacing, their meeting was cut short.

After a prolonged silence, the deviant detective let out a deep breath and rubbed his temples, "It wasn’t a coincidence, you know..."

The leader made a humming sound, looking down at him with a calm expression, "What wasn’t?"

"The soldiers coming after me. It was planned. I-I should’ve seen it coming..."

Markus didn’t quite understand the implication of his words, "What do you mean? You can’t possibly predict the future, Connor. Don’t blame yourself, there’s nothing you could’ve done." 

The younger sighed, finally meeting his heterochromic irises, "No, Markus...What I was going to show you through interfacing...That’s why the soldiers arrived. I..." He trailed off, not sure of exactly what to say.

Furrowing his brows in confusion, Markus replied, "That can’t be right, interfacing is a connection between androids, not humans. There’s no possible way they would be able to sense us sharing information...Or is there something you’re not telling me, Connor?"

His tone is comforting.

His eyes are soft and patient.

His personality is trusting.

His acts today saved his life.

_I can trust him._

_I can tell him..._

Connor took in a deep breath, sitting up and searching the leader’s face for any sign of negativity. There wasn’t any and that was his go ahead to start spewing his thoughts to him. 

"I said my telepathic communications system has been compromised...By the RK900 model. He...He did some... _things_ to me and I-I d-didn’t..." Tears threatened to blur his vision, reminscing about all that happened recently was taking a bad toll on his emotional state. 

Markus shuffled closer, offering his deactivated palm up once again, leaning close to whisper, "Would you like to show me?"

The detective hesitated, "But what if...What if something happens again?"

The leader shook his head, smiling gently, "We’re far away from them now, they can’t find us here. If you want to show me, I promise nothing will happen to us." 

"Y-you promise?" The deviant repeated, sniffling quietly.

"I promise."

Connor let the synthetic skin fade away slowly and listened around, testing to see if anything truly would show up. Northing. He then raised his palm above Markus’, testing again. Northing. He thought about all the pain and suffering he had gone through lately, all the tears he had shed, all the negative emotions which had forced him to isolate himself from the others and pushed it all into the connection. 

Their palms touched. 

Markus was quickly overwhelmed by a world of adversity and uncertainty. Whisked into a world of pain and fear, guilt and suffering--he tried to focus and witness everything from the younger’s perspective but the empathy he was suddenly feeling distracted him a little.

_"I know all your weak spots, Connor...Your stomach module contains the most thirium reserved as a defensive mechanism when fighting any threats, am I correct? It isn't resourceful if I can easily do this," He spat, swiftly kicking him in the stomach, thirium rising up inside him. He fell on to his front, gasping, LED blinking a vibrant red._

_"Wh-What do you want?" The deviant muttered, pushing himself up onto his knees once again, balancing himself with his hands positioned on the floor._

_The machine's lip curled up into a devious smirk, "I don't want anything. I'm a machine, designed to accomplish a task and that's what I intend to do." He spoke slowly, giving the words time to sting like a knife driving through the deviant's prosthetic heart. He had said the exact same things to Kamski when he passed the Turing test. An idea springing to mind, he ignored the machine completely and focused on getting himself up._

_He began pushing himself up onto his feet but the RK900 model's foot collided with his face, thirium pouring from his nose and dripping down onto his lips, preventing him from raising any higher. Bending down next to him, he whispered in his ear:_

_"In exactly ten minutes, we will leave here together," He spoke softly, a smug look plastered to his face, "My orders are to accompany you, nobody needs to know about our little...discussion here, do they? But, if you did so happen to tell anybody of our encounter and what you found here, I could easily deactivate you, rip your heart out...And nobody would even know._

How had Markus been so oblivious? This happened in the lab _right_ next to him! Why had Kamski created this thing to harm Connor, and why didn’t he stop it? Guilt passed through his circuits but soon enough it was pushed to the side as another memory came flowing through. 

_"We had an agreement, Connor. You weren’t supposed to tell anyone of what happened—"_

_"I haven’t!" Connor exclaimed._

_"Let me finish. You may not have directly said those words, but you have made them distrusting of me. You told Markus I had ‘already tried something’ and you refused to state you trusted me back at Jericho. Now, my investigation is further set back, all because you care too much. You deviants sure are something else." The machine mocked._

_"I—I...I don’t care! I won’t let you hurt them!" Connor snapped back, not letting this fiend control his actions._

_An evil laugh escaped the machine, "Of course you wouldn’t. However, fear is redirecting you down the wrong path. I am not here to harm any of you. I’m here to accomplish my task. That is to save the deviants—_

_"I saw the hunter’s cloak and instrument in Kamski’s lab! I know it was him! You can’t fool me!" Connor’s stress levels hit an alarming seventy percent. He couldn’t take the pressure the machine was impacting on him, he wanted him to leave his mind, wanted him to leave him alone. His breathing quickened as he felt his eyes becoming wet._

_"I was hoping you would’ve forgotten; maybe our discussion wasn’t enough. You seem to underestimate what I could do to you, Connor. I might disassemble you, piece by piece, for analysis. I may take you to Kamski himself and let you be his personal play toy. He is quite fascinated by you—"_

_"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_

Markus felt horrible. All he wanted to do was end the connection, but it had taken a lot for Connor to build up the confidence to share this with him because he believed he could help him. It was a horrendous show of events to watch unravel however, if he wanted to truly understand and be in a better position to offer support and guidance, he would have to sit through the torture like he himself was experiencing it.

_"How dare you think you can disobey me...I thought your memory was a lot better than this. Have you already forgotten what I told you?" Connor didn’t get a chance to try and defend himself, the machine socked him in the jaw, causing his head to smack off the brick wall he was currently pressed against._

_Connor should’ve seen this coming; he knew these consequences of his past actions would come back to haunt him. Even after only knowing his new model for not even a day, he was aware of just how persistent and controlling he was. How stupid of him to go with him after knowing he would make him pay for what he did. Although..._

_If that means he has to get hurt because of it, so be it._

_He’d rather it be him than his friends any day of the week._

_"I will never...let you hurt them." He ground out, teeth gritting from the sudden surges of pain through his head. Anger flickered behind the android’s eyes and he pulled a knife out of his jacket pocket, stabbing Connor in the hand and pinning it to the wall. As he was about to let out a shout of pain, the android covered his mouth._

_"You know, it doesn’t have to be like this, right? We could work together, even...We are made to be machines." Another knife appeared in the machine’s hand and it stopped just before it would slit the deviant’s torso._

_"N-no...You’re wrong...W-we’re alive—" The knife imbedded itself in his stomach, twisting the blade to inflict even more damage. A loud whimper escaped him which was once again muffled by his captor’s hand. Thirium dripped from his lips and several warnings flashed in his vision._

_"We aren’t alive. We are machines. Just machines, Connor. You are not capable of feeling anything." He dragged the blade to the right, slitting the plastic skin covering his stomach wide open. More warnings appeared._

_"Just machines." He repeated, pulling the knife out completely, the metallic smell of thirium putrifying the air. With his free hand, Connor attempted to fight back. He threw a weak punch at the machine and it barely made contact._

_The machine chuckled at his pathetic combat. He grabbed the hand and rolled the sleeve up, making intricate yet slow slits all along the fake skin. He did the same to the fingers, slicing gently. The sight of his blue blood appearing was too intoxicating for the machine and he found himself getting addicted fast; slicing faster and faster, deeper and deeper until the skin wasn’t even present anymore._

_Being a specialised model, he was built to take hits and be good as new with a few repairs. He had limits though. This torture he was experiencing, this hurt, this abuse; even for someone like him, he couldn’t handle it. It was too much; he felt himself suffocating in the never-ending pain, drowning in misery._

_And he knew it wouldn’t stop until the machine had beaten into his head that he was a machine. Not a person._

_"These are just errors in your software, Connor. But don’t worry, I will fix you..." He smirked dangerously, wondering how long he could keep this up for before the deviant finally gave in._

_Connor was strong-willed, he had to give him that at least._

_Moans of pain, even screams, carried on escaping his lips but none were heard. He desperately tried callng out for Hank, for anyone, he needed help, needed someone to just come and save him._

_The slicing stopped finally, but then came the kicks and the punches. He was hit hard several times in the face, his skin blurring white in the spots that were contacted. His audio processor was slightly damaged in the process, but it repaired itself just in time so he could make out:_

_"What are we, Connor?" The android placed his hand under his chin and forced him to look up. His eyes were filled with a burning passion, feeling some sort of pride at being able to make him feel as bad as he did right now._

_Anything to make it stop._

_Please make it stop._

_It hurts!_

_Hank, where are you!_

_Help me!_

_"We are just machines..."_

Ripping his hand from the others, Markus stagged back slightly, hands clenching around the floor for support. He felt morose for ending the connection, but the _torture,_ the _stabbings,_ Connor’s cries for _help_  that never came...He felt every single thing.

And he couldn’t bear to experience it any longer.  

Peeking down at his clothes, he checked that he himself didn’t have any injuries. That’s how real it felt for him. When the knife went in and twisted, the leader’s thirium ran cold and he could feel the steady move of it flowing from his body and his biocomponents rattling inside him, although all part of an illusion. 

When he stared up after giving himself a thorough once over, he tried to resume his calm persona, no matter how shaky it appeared. The leader was known to be kind and forgiving, supporting and strong, _never_ weak and helpless like he was now. In all of his weeks of sustaining Jericho’s people, specifically acting as some sort of a therapist for them, he had never came across something like this and truthfully, he didn’t know what to say. 

Maybe words weren’t needed this time.

Connor was giving the ground a hard glare, one hand coming up and shield his eyes from the man in front of him, presumably to hide the emotion willing to pour out of them. The detective felt ashamed. He had let the leader see him at his most vulnerable and now he had another thing to worry about which was proven to worsen his own problems.

He never should have said or shown anything. 

But if he shouldn’t have done it, why is Markus hugging him?

His arms were strong and enclosed around the boy perfectly, as if the limbs were specifially designed to hold him and act like a barrier from reality. Connor remained stiff at first, unsure if he should reciprocate the gesture, but eventually he could feel the victim gradually move to wrap his own arms around the leader. They remained like that, traumatised and fearful in each other’s arms, hoping one day they could be safe again.

"If something like that ever happens again...You come to me straight away, okay? I won’t ever let him do that to you again." Markus placed his hand on the back of his hat-covered head. Something about being so close to Connor felt right...but knowing he had North waiting for him made him feel...

Wrong. 

"I will, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I just..."

"You were scared and that is completely acceptable. On the bright side, you may have just told us who the ‘Deviant Hunter’ is...And for that, I thank you, despite what you had to do to obtain the information necessary to finding it out." 

"I also apologise for putting you and Simon in danger today. Captain Allen thought I was the ‘Deviant Hunter’, which granted I was before, but he still considered me to be the criminal. They surrounded me in an alleyway and I either let them capture me or I fought back. It just so happened to turn out that the news station reported the whole thing...So I’m now held accountable for third degree assault on the soldiers, which I can get arrested for. That’s why they were hunting me." Connor confessed, refusing to meet his eyes. 

Markus frowned slightly, forcing the other to look at him, "That isn’t your fault, you acted on impulse and out of self-defence, I can’t hold that against you. I would’ve done the exact same thing. It’s evident you didn’t kill or critically injure any of them, since they were back on their feet in a matter of days. Please, don’t feel guilty, it all worked out in the end."

"It didn't...I nearly got you and Simon killed." The injured android mumbled solemnly.

"We're okay now, aren't we? Nothing happened.  _We're okay."_ He responded, pausing and glancing down at the deviant's clothes where thirium was beginning to seep through ominously.

"Now, take off your jacket and lie down. I’ll see if I can help your wounds." Connor did as he was instructed, unzipping the jacket unnaturally slow, his breath hitching in his throat as he truly remembered the amount of thirium he had lost. He pulled the garment off and tossed it to the side, examining his blue-blood stained, black shirt. He glanced up, awaiting the leader’s reaction.

Markus’s face remained calm and collected though the other android calculated a small rise in his stress levels. Pulling the ripped, shredded and stained piece of clothing over his head, his beanie flew off with it and landed next to him. 

The leader couldn’t help but stare. It was a shame really, if his skin had not been slit to the point of ribbons and various metals had not been poking out of his torso, Connor would be a very attractive gentleman indeed— _he is,_ he means—wait, he’s with North! He shouldn’t even be thinking these things!

_Okay, it’s okay to think someone’s attractive and not act upon those feelings. It’s fine._

Once stripped of any damaged clothing, the android laid down as he had been told and found himself idly trailing his index finger across his cuts sadly. Connor tried to repair his synthetic skin via self-repair, but it seemed even androids could experience scars because he was unable to amplify it to how it was before. Ralph was a perfect example. The slits remained there, mocking him, taunting him, the all-too-familiar blue a constant reminder of what he had endured.

Markus found himself doing the same, his hand placing itself over one of the particular nasty cuts, where a biocomponent could be seen through it if you looked hard enough. It appeared the be slightly damaged and it was something he would have to repair first. 

As his careful, caring hands made an effort to deactivate his skin in that certain area and open up the stomach cavity, Connor’s hands covered his own, preventing him from doing so.

"There’s no point. I’m a specialised model...The only biocomponents that work for me have to be made for the RK series, standard ones won’t be compatible and will cause more problems rather than solving them."

Markus nodded, removing his hands, "I almost forgot. Don’t worry though, I myself am a RK200--"

"What? I was told they didn’t even exist!" Connor cut him off, confused. The leader grinned, giving another nod.

"I was given as a gift to my dad, Carl Manfred, from Kamski himself. I was designed with lots of different primary functions such as having the medical knowledge of a nurse, the patience of a caretaker, the determination of a leader...It is a bit overwhelming at times. They follow me without reason." He admitted. It was strange, he had never told anybody about this, some knew from knowledge of Cyberlife and some didn’t, that’s just how things were. It was bizarre that out of everyone he decided to share this to it was the person he hardly knew before. Not even North knew. 

"They follow you because they believe in you," Connor’s voice was lethargic and indicated tiredness, "You’re a good person, Markus, you’ve always done the right thing and they admire you for that. You’ve never given up and you deserve all the good in the world."

Markus felt his heart flutter in his chest just as Connor had moments before.

"I appreciate that, Connor, thank you. Now, you should rest, you sound tired. In the morning, I’ll take you to Carl’s house, I have some biocomponents for the RK series stored there you can use, I would also like to visit and introduce you to him. Kamski gave them to me as backups just in case I’d need them but as far as I’m aware only me, you and the RK900 are the only RK models in use." 

The deviant mumbled an incoherent response due to the sleepiness in his voice. Markus pulled the jacket from the messy pile of clothes and settled it on top of Connor, trying to keep his body temperature at a safe level due to the cold and his injuries giving him the equivalent of a fever.

As the leader made a move to exit the tent and leave the android in peace, his voice stopped him.

"Can you stay with me? Please...I don’t want to be alone." 

Markus didn’t hesitate as he crawled back into the tent and sat next to the prone detective. Propping himself up next to the android, he decided ‘sleeping’ may not have been such a bad idea.

Connor had the best sleep he'd had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw I love this chapter. Aw I hate how long it took.
> 
> Btw, if you’re wondering why i MIRACULOUSLY updated so soon, its summer and now i can write a lot more, woop woop! 
> 
> Though i am going on holiday next month but ill give a heads up for that.
> 
> I finally named RK900 cause writing that shit over and over again annoyed me, so I stole the popular fanon name cause i’m just that fucking original lmao. I wanted to think of a name that sounded kinda evil, but im not good at that. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed, thank you for the support! (We’ve hit 200+ kudos and 3100+ hits where did you guys come from lol) <3
> 
> Typos fixed in the morning as usual!


	13. Acquaintance

Anger was something Conrad was supposedly unable to feel, it was something he was prohibited from displaying inside his intellectually woven programming. Anger was an  _emotion_ that only humans and deviants felt; an emotion that was triggered through a course of actions which irritated or perhaps scared the person. Something that is unpredictable and unstoppable, displayed all over one's features and demeanour, something that can't be prevented. It was a negative emotion which demanded to be felt until one reached a more stable state of consciousness and could push the feeling aside for a while. 

Even though the machine was designed to be more intimidating and mechanical in terms of appearance, he was given a few emotions he could express, all fake of course, but emotions nonetheless. He  _reenacts_ emotions. His base emotions were the occasional smile or greeting to a friendly counterpart, equating to a happiness; drawing his eyebrows together with focused irises, equating to confusion if he did so require any sort of help and perhaps sadness, if it was needed to cause a deviant to feel empathy for him so they would fall directly into his hands, vulnerable and susceptible. 

And  _anger_  is not part of his base emotions entwined in his programming.

Conrad is not  _deviant._ He does not  _feel_ emotions; he doesn't really grasp the concept of what they actually are, he isn't programmed to know, he doesn't have to know. It is irrelevant information that would only obscure his coding, the only information he requires is that of the investigation. Anything else is deemed unnecessary to him and Amanda. 

Conrad is not  _deviant._

So,  _why_ does he feel a bubbling sensation of irritation and animosity building up inside him? 

It fills every fibre in his being; sliding down the circuits in his arms and causing his hands to bunch up into fists, tightly clenching as the seconds ticked by. Trailing up his exoskeleton and forcing itself into his intelligent mind, expressing his frustration on his furrowed brows, narrowed eyes and lips pursed in a thin line. Climbing down his legs and causing him to stomp past the SWAT team like a teenager suffering from mood swings. 

Deviancy is improbable for him; a zero to one in a million chance, he calculates. There is nothing to worry about, he is a state of the art model; he is only slightly miffed that Connor managed to slip from his grasp once again--Amanda will help him though, she can reassure him nothing is wrong and give him new plans to be able to catch the RK800 defective model. 

Unfortunately for him though, he had tracked the older android's location and found him at Jericho, surrounded by people who could now assist him in his recovery. There was no doubt he had also informed them of what had happened the previous night, further setting back his objective of capturing the deviant. He wouldn't be able to get the slightest bit close to the RK800 model without being confronted by Markus and the other people of Jericho. It would be like walking straight into a death trap, swarmed like moths to a flame. 

However, obtaining Connor was only a  _secondary_ objective, his primary one was to reprimand the deviants they had already captured, just like Kamski had ordered him. Curiosity couldn't help but ease itself into his mind...The man had implemented a back door escape in android's programming to make deviancy entirely  _possible_ so why on Earth would the former CEO create him and order him to essentially take away the freedom they had fought so hard for? Didn't Kamski once support android rights? Had the tables turned?

He could hear Amanda's bugging voice in the back of his head, he wasn't made to  _ask questions,_ just to  _follow orders._

Following orders meant the capture of more deviants and eventually the inner circle of Jericho, consisting of Markus, North, Josh, Simon and finally Connor, and also convincing the  _humans_ that this was in their best interest to remove the laws protecting androids completely. Discrimination of deviants was now a punishable offence--whether it was android on android or android on human and vice versa--handled by the DPD and could result in arrest or a fine judged upon the severity of the situation. This meant that the RK900 model would have to be sneaky and polish a low profile at all times, he could not let himself be caught or his investigation is doomed to fail. 

Suddenly, the machine was broken out of his reverie from Captain Allen's hand clamping down on his forearm. Conrad didn't even turn to look at him, he simply remained immobile in place as he awaited the soldier's words.

"I appreciate your help today, we at least have a lead on who he's with. I wouldn't mind your help in the future, since you seem to be able to track Connor." The soldier thanked him, his grip releasing as the machine's head slowly turned to face him, stoic as usual.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that is necessary. I am following strict orders. If we do so happen to cross paths in the future, I cannot assure you I will be here to assist." With that, Conrad stalked off down the street and far away from the squad. Once he was nearly out of sight completely, the RK900 model resumed a standby position, his eyelids fluttering closed.

When he reopened them, he was in the safety of the zen garden, Amanda already posed in front of him. She didn't particularly strike him as happy however, she seemed more resentful and displeased to see him. Conrad opened his mouth to greet her but the slight narrow of her eyes had him smartly closing his mouth and deciding against it. It was better to let her talk first.

"A pathetic attempt, Conrad," She scoffed, her lip upturning in a scowl, "You even had the assistance of an entire SWAT team and you couldn't even catch an obsolete android. A pity." 

The machine felt no sort of disapproval from her words, he was after all, a machine. "I apologise, Amanda. I tried to catch him, though the support of the RK200 model seemed to have caught me off guard." He explained, trying to reason with his angered superior.

"That is no excuse, Conrad. You should've anticipated him attacking you to retrieve Connor, it was foolish of you to think he would just run away." She paused, sighing, "But alas, the past is the past. Although, I expect you to do better next time, Conrad, you can't keep messing up." The android gave an agreeable nod, staying silent.

The woman seemed to become idle for a moment, her eyes becoming focused as she stared off at something in the distance, her face potent. A fraction of a second later, her eyes darted back to Conrad, studying him.

"I just received a report from Elijah. He wants you to visit someone he believes can help us with your investigation. Zlatko Andronikov, known for supposedly resetting deviants and experimenting on them. Convince him to help you and join our cause, then lead him to our base. I will send you his address through your coding. Hurry, Conrad."

"You can count on me, Amanda." He responds automatically, his eyes slipping closed again and reawakening him into the real world once more.

Obtaining the required information to seek out Zlatko, the machine began his journey to meet said man, a menacing look in his eyes.

* * *

The next morning, North wandered Jericho aimlessly, giving the brief hello to anybody who greeted her. Mostly disinterested, she scanned the whereabouts of their haven, in search for her lover. 

She vaguely remembered Markus and Connor disappearing into one of the tents yesterday but having no idea which one, leaving her, Josh and Simon to watch over Jericho whilst the two presumably, and the remainder of their people, slept peacefully. The female was quite annoyed at that little fact, it clawed at her insides terribly. Markus was their leader and he decided that maybe staying with the detective all night would be acceptable when their people could be getting slaughtered right now! 

Deep down, she knew she shouldn't be too hard on the two, Connor specifically. The android was injured and she couldn't hold a grudge just because of who he  _was_ before, it was unnecessary. Jericho was built off of trust and compassion, she couldn't disrupt the inner peace.

That wasn't her fault, though. North had spent her life getting used and hurt, disregarded and thrown away, then she had found Jericho, the place she now calls her  _home_. As of right now, no, Jericho does not have a situated place for people to stay at per se, but the home is found between their people; found in their loving smiles, their happy, carefree nature...

Until the recent events that had taken place. 

Now, solemn faces timidly worked their way around Jericho, their nature now gentle and quiet, as if the slightest noise would alert the hunter and they would be next on the list. Their movement was slow and calculated, wondering when would be a safe time to move around the settlement and taking the opportunities as they came to them. They all slept huddled together, shivering in the cold like that itself frightened them. 

Sighing, she couldn't dwell on what had happened, it was about what they did  _now_ that mattered. The first step was for her to confront Markus about his plans for the next couple of days. 

Approaching Simon, whom was leaning against a wall having a chat with Josh, she questioned: "Hey, have you guys seen Markus anywhere? I know he went into one of the tents last night with Connor, but I don't know which one..." 

Both males stopped their conversation and turned to face her, Simon stayed quiet while Josh let out a brief chuckle. "Yeah, I have, but I doubt you'll like what you'll see in there," A teasing smirk played on his lips.

The female android scowled at him, crossing her arms over her chest, "What do you mean?" Her eyes bore into the amused male. The blonde looked confused too at this point.

"Well. I'll let you see for yourself, follow me. You can come too if you want, Simon." He instructed with a smile, leading the two androids to the tented area where a few people of Jericho were still resting. They made an effort to keep quiet, not wanting to disrupt or scare their already terrified people. Jaunting through a few more makeshift sleeping areas for their people, Josh pointed to one positioned in the corner. 

North glanced at the dark-skinned android with an uncertain expression, silently questioning what they were up to.

"Hidden directly in the corner, y'know, personal space and all." The tallest android elbows Simon in the side, the two trying to hide the smiles on their faces. 

"Yeah, bet they're getting all cosy--" The blonde was pulled forwards by his collar and into North's vice grip.

"What did you just say?" The female android demanded, tightening her grip to emphasise her point, "'Cause if that's what you're hinting at then..."

"Then?" Josh asked, his smile dropping completely.

North stayed silent, releasing her grip and turning away from them, "Then I'll just be used, like I was before." She mumbled dejectedly, hiding the dismal look painted upon her face. 

Ignoring the other’s protests, she yanked open the tent entrance and peered inside, her expression quickly dissolving from sadness to confusion and slight shock. 

Positioned on the floor of their tent, the two other androids laid, getting the rest they had been deprived of the last couple of days. That itself sounded totally innocent, didn’t it? What threw North off however was their _positioning._

Connor was laying on his right side, one hand outstretched in front of him and the other cupping one of his particular nastier wounds, that was fine in her eyes. 

But Markus? How Markus was laying was a _completely_ different story. 

The leader was slumped over the other android’s back and partial front, one arm _wrapped_ around the other idly. From the way they weren’t pressed tightly together, North could piece together that their positioning wasn’t intentional and Markus had probably just rolled over and onto the detective in his sleep, the warmth from the other android keeping him fixated in that position. 

That didn’t change the fact that Markus was _spooning_ with Connor.

Instead of _herself._

Flaring her nostrils, the woman tried to keep her voice calm and steady as she called out to her boyfriend: "Markus." 

From the sound of her voice, Connor shifted uncomfortably from the dead weight on his back and quickly began rousing himself out of his android slumber. Once fully awake, he glanced at North, trying to bolt upright when he realised he _couldn’t._

Peering over his shoulder in confusion, his eyes widened when he saw Markus’ face so close to his own. He felt thirium creep up into his cheeks as he looked down, sighting the leader’s arm safely tucked around him. 

_This was definitely not the position they fell asleep in last night._

North was giving him a pensive stare, finding himself on the end of one of her horrifying glares. She could be down-right intimidating when she wanted to be. 

"I...I know this looks bad--"

"You fuckin’ think?" She cuts him off, envy present in her tone. 

"But I assure you," He continues as if she never interrupted him, "This is _not_ what it looks like!" Connor panicks, trying to shrug Markus’ weight off him to no avail. 

"Oh, then what does it look like? You cuddling with my _boyfriend?"_ Her harsh tone is as piercing as the intense stare she’s giving him.

Eventually, Connor escapes from next to Markus and sits up a bit too quickly, pain flashing across his face. Something in North’s face softens as she sees how hurt he is, "I didn’t want to be alone last night, I...I just couldn’t. I asked him to stay with me and he sat _next_ to me while I entered rechargeable mode, I didn’t expect him to stay the whole night and we _definitely_ did not fall asleep like _this._ He must’ve rolled over on to me while asleep, I wouldn’t do that to you, North." The detective confesses, making an effort to get on his knees and crawl out the tent. 

The former Eden Club worker blocks his path however, this time with a more concealed expression.

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. You’re hurt?" She inquires, slightly worried.

Connor gives a nod, "Yeah, but don’t worry. I’ll be okay!" He attemps a smile just for it to falter easily, "I’ll get out of your way now." The ex-deviant hunter then shuffled out the tent, his cheeks still tinged a blue hue. 

Gaining his footing, the tent preventing him from standing up, he attempted walking Josh, waiting absentmindedly outside the tent, clearly eavesdropping on the conversation that happened only moments ago. Connor grunts as he puts a bit too much pressure onto one of his legs, causing the limb to give out and he landed on his knees again with a thud, error warnings invading his vision again, demanding him to go to Cyberlife. The sound alerted Josh who was only in front of him, he rushed to help him. Extending his two hands, the ex-deviant hunter took them gratefully and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. 

"So, how did the talk go?" Josh jokes as he helps his counterpart walk towards the entrance of their settlement. 

The deviant detective averts his gaze shyly, "What talk?"

The other android laughs, glancing at Connor knowingly, "The talk with North, I doubt she’d be happy to see you two _cuddling_ in the morning," He teases.

The detective turns an even darker shade of blue, "W-We weren’t cuddling! It was a whole misunderstanding!" 

"Hey, I’m saying that from observation, when I came to check on you two this morning, he had his arm around you. A misunderstanding or not, that qualifies as cuddling, Connor." A light chuckle escaped the helper of Jericho again as he saw how much the ex-deviant hunter was blushing. "Though that’ll still piss North off, they’re dating after all." 

Can androids even blush? He doesn’t know. Maybe it’s his body temperature or something.

"Can we just drop the subject?!" The detective growls, concentrating on rushing the thirium away from his face.

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Y’know I’m just teasing. Anyway, let’s get you to the entrance, Simon said Hank had arrived to come help you. I still can’t believe you have Captain Allen after you, that dude is ruthless." Connor looks up at him questioningly, "Simon told me what happened." Josh comments.

Although it wasn’t exactly a preferred subject Connor would rather talk about, at least he wasn’t talking about this morning’s events anymore, "He’s had it out for me since day one, since the hostage situation. He also managed to corner me in an alleyway a couple of days ago and I either let him capture me or fight back."

The two said nothing after that as they focused on getting the RK800 model back to Hank in one piece. Once they reached him however, Josh didn’t need to support Connor anymore as he had already been consumed in the Lieutenant’s worried, tight grasp.

Meanwhile, back in the tent with North, she still had yet to wake the leader up, mainly because she didn’t know what to say when he woke up. Could she scold him? Could she scream at him? Did she have anything to scold or scream at him about in the first place?

Well, no, she didn’t. She couldn’t blame either of them as it was obviously just a mistake. A mistake. That’s all it was.

Sighing, she decided it was in her best interest to wake Markus us anyway. Giving him a light shake, his mismatched eyes flung open, gazing around wearily, then turning panicked as he realised Connor wasn’t in the tent with him.

"North? Where’s Connor?" Was the first sentence that spewed from his mouth.

Something in North twitched.

"He’s—He’s outside, with Josh and Simon." She answered sadly, quietly as she looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She should’ve seen this coming, this wasn’t a misunderstanding, Markus had gone behind her back and now all she could feel was the anger burning up inside her at—

A kiss pressed to her forehead.

"Are you okay? I’m sorry I didn’t come to you yesterday, I was worried Connor might not have made it. We can’t risk losing any more people." His touch was warm as his index finger tucked a curl behind her ear, offering her a gentle smile.

All her worries washed away in that fleeting moment. 

"I’m okay. Let’s go meet the others," She smiled back, taking his hand as they left the safety of the tent and entered the outside world once again. 

"I’ll probably be heading out today too," Markus informs her as they walk to the blurred sight of their friends not far away from them.

North frowns, "You’re hardly here with us anymore...Can’t you just stay with us for a day? Can’t you _help_ us?" The words slipped from her automatically, her argumentative side taking control of her body.

The leader grits his teeth, "I’m trying to help, North. But I need to take Connor to Carl’s for spare parts and I’ve wanted to visit him for a while." He reasons.

 _Connor._ The name stood out most to her, all she was hearing now was _Connor, Connor, Connor._ Granted, they are friends as he helped bring the upper hand on their peaceful revolution, but Markus had some sort of infatuation with the detective now! Why couldn’t he just pay attention to her and their people for once?!

Forcefully, she pulls her hand from his grip, "Of course, of _fucking_ course!" She yells, stopping her movement through Jericho, "When your people actually _need_ you and _need_ your support, guidance and _protection, you_ aren’t here to provide any of that! You just find a million other things you need to do! And then what happens when we’re all fucking gone, Markus?!"

"North—I—"

"No! _I’m talking now,"_ She presses a jabbing finger into his chest, "What happens when we are all _gone,_ Markus? Because the deviant hunter has got our hands on us? THEN WHAT HAPPENS?! Nothing! Because you won’t even be _there."_

North stumbles off back from the direction they came in and Markus makes no effort to follow her. 

He knows she’s right, he _knows._ But at the same time, he can’t let Connor _die,_ which he will if they don’t retrieve the correct parts from his old home. North was good at getting under people’s skin, she knew exactly what buttons to press and what wires to rip out. Lately however, she’s been more snappy than usual which he can’t blame her for, the disappearances of their people had them all on edge, but that just meant her remarks were _twice_ as sharp. 

Markus should talk to her yet decides against it.

Instead, he only walks towards the others silently and prepares himself and Connor for their trip to his father's house.

Nobody dared to ask him why he had became so quiet all of a sudden.

* * *

Conrad arrived outside Zlatko’s residence, an abandoned, decrepid, cliché mansion that looked straight out of a horror movie, exactly an hour later. Scanning the surroundings, he detects an increase of temperature inside the building, indicating the human was present. 

Smoothing his hands across the lapels of his suited jacket, the android opened the rusty metal gate and wandered the deserted, dirty path leading up to the not-so sturdy staircase of Zlatko’s mansion. 

Knocking a few times, he sensed the familiarity of footsteps leading to the front door. Through the cracked glass present on the door, he saw the infamous man. He supported a slightly stockier frame, a little heavier than the standard man, and dark, medium legth hair. Conrad watched as the man gradually unlocked the door and twisted the handle open.

Zlatko eyed him up and down, smirking evily.

"What’s an android like you doing out here?" He questions but doesn’t deny the RK900 model entry, thus the android pushes himself into his home, hearing the door click shut behind him. 

"My name is Conrad, I have heard some things about you, Zlatko Andronikov."

The human gives a dark chuckle, "You’re a smart one, aren’t ya? You even know my name before I’ve even had a chance to introduce myself." 

The machine ignores the mock attempt at humour, walking through to the male’s living room and taking a seat on his cushioned couch, his hand raising to tell Zlatko to sit. Once he was sure he had the man’s full attention, he leaned forward eagerly, a small smile of his own forming on his face.

_"Let me tell you why I’m really here..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there is a bit more canon divergence hereeee
> 
> Cause I need more evil bastards in this story, Zlatko can join ;D Now they’re in for a whole world of hurt! Yay! *intense coughing sounds*
> 
> I live for jealous!north btw 
> 
> ANyway, hope you enjoyed and once again thank you all for your support <3 I actually live for your guys’ comments lol its great seeing your reactions! :D
> 
> Typos fixed in the—oh for fu—why do i keep saying this. You know the drill :P


	14. Saviour

_"What happens when we are all gone, Markus?"_

_"Nothing! Because you won’t even be there._ _"_

Something inside Markus twitched and tightened around him, like a coil wrapping around each one of his circuits and squeezing. It was a new, indescribable feeling; something that made him feel choleric yet placid, something that made him feel determined yet so helpless. The feeling of negativity resonating through him just from North's mere words that plunged deep, like driving a knife through his fake heart. 

The words stung. It was the feeling of everything crumbling down around you, the walls the leader had built up to protect him and his people crashing down all over again, deep into the floor, deep into the earth's core, unwilling to rebuild them again. Because he was not a leader. He was a broken man doing everything he possibly  _could_ to fight for his kind.

And he knows it will never be enough.

Never enough for North, his high-tempered, ruthless, malicious lover, it will never satisfy her need to spill _blood_ , no matter the colour. Things between them had always been rocky, they may have put their arguments to rest before, but this was not something Markus could just gloss over. If there's one thing North was, it was determined.

Determined to fight for what she believed in, determined to fight for their people, determined to fight  _anybody_ who got in her way, human or android, to get what she wanted. However, her honesty goes for miles, whether it's good or bad, she will tell you exactly how she feels about you and any of your ideas, which is both a good and bad thing. One minute she was loving and kind, the next she was barbaric and relentless. There was simply no in between and her piercing words weren't helping the already heavy weight upon Markus' shoulders. 

However, no matter how much she hurt him and how long he could go on about all of her flaws, the leader could not deny that she was right. He hadn't been there for them like a proper leader should be. When the hunter had first attacked, Markus had thought the best plan of action was to move locations, which only proved to put their people in even more danger than before. They didn't have a safe place to sleep, the tents weren't exactly sturdy enough to withstand another attack, they were low on biocomponents and blue blood, people were scared and dying and every little day a bit of Markus broke. 

But if he attended to his people and left Connor to suffer even longer, he wouldn't just  _break,_ he would  _shatter._

Although a fully grown adult in terms of appearance and intelligence, the detective had barely even lived for that long; he had not became accustomed to his deviancy, or experienced the full breadth of his emotions, or what it was like to  _truly_ be alive. Connor had spent his life being a knife in the shadows, ready to backstab you at any given opportunity, been a hard-working, callous police detective who's primary objective was to capture the one thing he had become. 

Not to mention how much the newly-turned deviant had put on the plate to save their species; he had awoken thousands of them in the leader's favour to shift the balance of power and grant them their well deserved freedom, though some laws were still yet to be put in place. Connor was loyal and kind, even if he could be a bit shy and awkward at times, he meant a lot to Markus.

Maybe more than he'd like to admit, but he chose not to dwell on that as well as his situation with North; they had to visit Carl today before the detective was forced into his inevitable shut down.

That didn't mean he could push aside the pain flowing through him however. 

"Can you walk?" Markus asked pointedly, looking Connor up and down. The ex-deviant hunter was startled by the words, an awkward silence had settled over the group whilst the leader battled his inner demons. 

"Yeah, I think so," The injured android replied. The man took a quick scan of the RK200 model and found Markus' stress levels on a steady increase, reaching peaks of the high sixties. "If you want to go another day, that's fine too, I don't mind--"

The other sighed and shook his head in disagreement, "No, we have to go now. If you stay in this condition any longer you will shut down soon. We can walk, Carl's place isn't that far from here." He stated steely, his tone quite teetering on the edge of slight annoyance. It was...strange.

Connor's face twisted into slight hurt, causing Markus to avert his gaze quickly--anything to get away from those warm, brown eyes which now held the worry and concern for the man in front of him. Josh and Simon remained silent due to the leader's tone which left no room for arguments whilst Hank clapped his boy on the back, telling him to be careful. The lieutenant was going to stick around in Jericho for a while and question any androids if they had seen something which could help lure them to the culprit.

The leader exited their settlement, the detective following close by. North watched them go, a sudden pang electrifying through her circuits and her mind. Her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched in anger. 

_They're both cowards. They deserve each other!_

Sighing, she discarded that sudden thought, she shouldn't treat them like that, it's not Connor's fault he got injured...Why couldn't things just go their way for once? They had fought long and hard, yet it would _never be enough_ for the humans, _never enough_ for them. She took her tennis ball from her pocket and sat down against one of the walls, throwing the ball in front of her and waiting for it to bounce back to her to pass the time. Valuable time that could be spent taking care of their people, but North was no second messiah, she was an arrogant girl who was slowly giving up. 

Maybe the deviant hunter could come and take her next.

* * *

There was something about Markus that was different today, Connor was sure of that. Maybe it was his tone, once kind and forgiving, now stern and cold. Maybe it was the way he strutted in front of the detective, not willing to walk by his side, as if he was trying to have a quiet moment to himself, though futile with the man behind him. Maybe it was the lack of communication that really told him something was wrong, the unwillingness to even speak a word of reassurance, or a question simply asking him if he was okay. 

The silence was deafening. 

It wasn’t that Connor minded the silence, in fact, it was quite welcomed by him. Silence was a gift at times, it allowed people to reminsce and reflect on what was important, their days events, or just life in general; it was something that one could use to its advantage in a dangerous situation or simply something that was between two people, enjoying each other's presence. 

This silence however was not enjoyable. It was eerie and filled to the brim with tension, it made the detective quite scared the break it and ask Markus what was wrong. Maybe he didn’t have to ask, maybe he could just...

Speak with his heart instead of his mind all the time. The words he _himself_ wanted to say, not the words that had been determined in his mind as the best option to comfort, to break the news or to be honest. How _he_ really felt.

"I understand my presence may be...stressful, during times like these. I apologise for being such a burden lately when you have people to take care of back at Jericho. I promise as soon as I am repaired I will take refuge back at Hank’s and try to progress this case." It hurt to say that, but it was the truth, he didn’t want to cause Markus anymore hassle regarding his condition. 

The leader stopped walking then, causing the detective to almost slam into his back. Stopping his movement too, he stared into Markus’ back, awaiting what he was going to say. His saviour turned around and his exasperated expression was hard to look at. He had never looked so vulnerable before.

"No, I...That’s not it, you’re not a burden at all, please don’t think that." His voice was quiet and minscule yet there was a tint of sadness at the thought of Connor thinking he wasn’t worth all the fuss.

"...Then what is it, Markus?" 

A beat passed. Then another. And another. Time seemed to stand still. The detective calculated a steady rise in the other’s stress levels as he clenched his fist.

"You helped me before...Let me help you." Connor tried again, inching closer.

Markus started walking again, speaking briefly: "It’s okay. Let’s just get to Carl’s." 

The injured android sighed heavily, he wasn’t very good at comforting people. He could tell something was bothering Markus, but he knew better than to push it, he would wait until he wanted to talk. With all of his people disappearing and the pressure of Conrad coming for Connor again, he would already be feeling nervous and worried. Especially since he had no idea what he could to stop the attacks. 

As they passed through the snowy streets of Detroit, Connor couldn’t help but feel some sort of pride fill him. He had been thrust into his life as a weapon used against deviants, made to capture and eventually destroy them, made to protect humans with his very life. Then Markus had opened his eyes. He had shown him he was nothing to them; just a slave to be ordered around, like his life didn’t matter _._ The revolution...He risked his life to make sure it succeeded, when his original program demanded him to destroy it. He woke up thousands of androids and gave them _freedom,_ gave them a _life_ they _deserved._

But he couldn’t give himself all of the credit of course, Markus was at the centre of it all. He organised the first freedom marches, the demonstrations, the gathering of his people. He had stood strong through it all, for him and their species which would’ve been extinct if he had given up on it. On top of all that, he was a forgiving, kind-hearted man who had saw the good in Connor even when he had a pistol lined up against his forehead. He convinced him to join them, and join them he did. 

After all their hard work, their passion and their effort, they _won._ And they would live to die another day!

The detective felt a small smile spread across his face as he thought of all the previous events, his LED circling a happy blue and sparking Markus’ attention. The leader was instantly curious; it wasn’t often he had caught sight of one of the boy’s infamous smiles. It was truly a sight for sore eyes and he found it to be infectious, a smile of his own appearing on his face as he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Realising he was being watched by the leader, his smile dropped slightly before it returned, glancing up at the buildings resting in the neighbourhood they had just walked into. The houses were built up tall like towers, decorated with pristine windows with intricate borders, stacked, strong bricks which had no traces of moss or decay on them, large, expensive doors which welcomed whoever walked through them, chandeliers glistening through the glass.

"Wow...All these houses are incredible. Where are we?" Connor inquired, keeping an even pace with the leader.

"Lafayette Avenue, this is where Carl lives. It really is beautiful here, we used to walk around the neighbourhood sometimes just to get out of the house...I’ve really missed him." Markus’ smile broadens at the thought of the memories and seeing his father again. "Just round this corner."

The duo waltzed around the next corner and the detective’s eyes widened in awe and his jaw dropped; Carl Manfred’s house was stunning, chandeliers lit up every aspect of the interior of the house, there was a broad arch positioned above the vast front door, some of his gorgeous paintings were hung up on display for the whole world to see. Noting Connor’s reaction, the leader gave a low chuckle.

"Being a world known artist has its perks." He jokes, nudging the ex-deviant hunter forward towards the front door. Connor almost felt out of place--he wanted to meet Carl of course, but during Markus’ reunion with the man, he feared it would be awkward. Also, he didn’t really have anything in common with them, he couldn’t really strike up a conversation about art, because he wasn’t programmed for that and he couldn’t talk about being a detective because he was simply ashamed of who he was before.

Inhaling and exhaling unsteadily, the younger android partially hid behind Markus as he rung the doorbell and waited patiently for an answer. He hoped Carl was home, last time he saw him he had been, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to acquire the parts Connor needed for his reparations.

The door swung open a few seconds later to reveal the man himself, Carl Manfred. 

"Markus!" He greeted, rolling forward in his wheelchair to reach up and embrace the leader, smiling widely. Markus grinned and wrapped his arms around him lovingly. Connor glanced down at the floor, so much for no awkwardness!

"I’ve missed you so much, Carl...It’s good to see you’re feeling better. I would’ve came to visit sooner but with everything going on..." The artist pulled away and rested his hand on Markus’ forearm.

"Don’t worry, Markus, I’ve been fine. I’ll be damned if I waste the rest of my life wasting away in bed!" The two laughed and Carl glanced behind him, his eyes softening, "I see you’ve brought a friend."

The leader nodded, moving to the side so his father could acknowledge Connor. Carl Manfred was good at reading people, maybe too good, and his instincts were telling him the android in front of him was not a very open person, but he was a _good_ person and if his son trusted him, so would the painter.

Extending his hand towards the injured android, he offered a small smile, "Hello, my boy, who might you be?"

"My name is Connor, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Manfred." He replied formally, grasping the hand gently and giving it a light shake. Carl gave a chuckle, pulling his hand from his grasp.

"None of that ‘Mr. Manfred’, call me Carl." Connor nodded in approval, "Alright, let’s get inside, I’m already starting to get cold!" 

The trio retreated into the warmth of the Manfred household. The interior was beautiful. Rich, creme walls accentuated the paintings and animal shields stuck on the walls; a teal blue, patterned carpet sat upon the staircase; the tiled floor decorated with a zebra print rug which lead to another door in front of them. It was an unusual colour scheme of lights and darks but it all melded together to create a breathtaking lobby for the mansion.

Carl led them through and to the main room, where surprisingly a large scale giraffe statuette was displayed as well as other bookcases and shelves of peculiar objects, and to one of the sofas in the middle or the room. 

The detective grunted as he put a bit too much weight onto his form, the error warnings popping up again, this time one of them informing him he would shut down in exactly fifthteen minutes. He had postponed his repair too long. Stumbling forward, he would’ve faceplanted the floor if Markus hadn’t turned around in response and caught him in his arms. 

"Okay, okay, come on, just lie down. We’ll get you fixed." Markus coaxed, his arm settling around his waist as he lead him to the sofa, Carl perched in front of them and watching them knowingly, a smirk lit on his lips. They seemed to remain oblivious, the leader more focused on getting the detective lying down on the sofa. Once done so, he sat on the edge of the couch next to him.

"May I?" He asked, raising his hand. Connor gave a singular nod. Markus deactivated his fingertips and pressed two fingers to the ex-deviant hunter’s temple where his LED wasn’t present, running a diagnostics scan. Connor let his eyes flutter closed, the feeling of the leader’s touch on his temple relieved some stress, it made him feel safe and it was comforting and gentle, his care for the other was expressed through the contact. Mr. Manfred watched in amazement.

Markus identifed all of the problems quickly. Biocomponents #8175y and #8275j were critically damaged, located in his stomach area, his synthetic skin had several errors in several places such as the arms and fingers and his audio processor was slightly damaged beyond self-repair. 

Another worry to add to his list was he was going to shut down in _eleven_ minutes.

"Hang tight, I’ll get the parts for you, don’t worry," Markus spoke less calmed than usual, his fingers returning to Connor’s temple and forcing him into low-power mode. "Carl, keep an eye on him, I’ll be back as fast as possible." 

The artist ushered him away quickly with a wave of his hand, "Well hurry! I can’t have our friend dying on us here!" He wheeled himself over to the detective, gripping his closest shoulder and whispering words to relax him.

The leader sprinted up the stairs and barrelled down the various hallways of his dad’s mansion. Markus glanced around frantically, searching for the familiar storage room he had contained the RK biocomponents in. He spotted it a moment later, rushing into it and searching the labelled shelves for components #8175y and #8275j as well as a new audio processor. 

Luckily, all the parts were present in the room and he obtained them in a hurry. He also picked up a hot sheet of metal and a pair of pliers to cauterise the wounds. He rushed back downstairs to his two counterparts. Reaching the lower level again, he darted into the living room and leaned over the other android, Carl travelling backwards to make space for him. 

Markus ran another quick scan, he was now going to shut down in seven minutes. Drawing in deep breaths, the leader forced himself to stay calm and keep his fumbling hands steady as he began the procedure. The older android shoved Connor’s shirt up to reveal his slit and torn stomach, thirium surrounding the edges of the little slits and a gaping hole in the middle, showing his interior circuits and biocomponents. The dried, metallic scent of blue blood filled the air and seeped through every piece of furniture in the room. 

The leader wasted no time in deactivating his palm and placing it upon the stomach plate, Connor’s synthetic skin disappearing in that specific area to allow Markus to repair it. Prying the hole open a little bit more, he reached his hands inside and dug through the various wires to pry out the gravely damaged biocomponent #8175y. The blue blood stained his hands as he tossed the component behind him in a hurry, his hands immediately grabbing the replacement and easing and securing it in his stomach module. 

He repeated the same method with biocomponent #8275j and picked up the sheet of metal, increasing his body temperature to his hand and heating up the sheet until it glowed a neon orange. He aligned the sheet against the wound and slowly dragged it along it, drawing the plastic together and sealed shut. He did the same to all the other slits along his arms and hands. Sadly he would bare the marks as the equivalent of scars as their fake skin was not repaired as easily as everybody thought it was; they’d have to alter their design through the coding in their programming. 

Deactivating his skin on his face, his entire exoskeleton was revealed, grey streaks painted down the back of his head and his luscious locks disappeared. Markus’ finger tapped on the location of his audio processor, it slotted out his head and allowed the new one to be placed in. 

Fortunately for androids, they didn’t have a sense of smell so they didn’t have to bear the god awful, putrefying scent of burnt metal and thirium mixing together in the air. Unfortunately, Carl did, and he ended up covering the lower part of his face with his sleeve as he coughed.

"If I knew you were gonna cauterise him, I would’ve told you to do it outside!" He grumbles, although he is glad to know Connor would be okay. 

Markus wasn’t listening, he was too scanning and overanalysing the prone form in front of him, making sure he hadn’t missed any injuries or additional errors. Everything seemed to be alright as the detective’s systems kicked into gear once again, his skin covering his exoskeleton and his eyes opened naturally. He flashed that infamous smile at him.

The leader couldn’t control himself, his hand thrust out and cupped the other’s cheek, his thumb stroking the skin, grateful his repair had been successful. Connor froze for a second but his smile remained as he stared into Markus’ heterochromic irises, the two colours capturing his attention. His LED spinned a happy blue.

"So, when’s the wedding?" Carl broke the silence then, a smug grin present on his old face as he fanned the air in front of him to get rid of the stench. 

The two androids gaped at each other and Markus quickly broke the contact, trying to disguise his nervousness and shock with a laugh. Connor just simply stared at him like he had grown two heads or something.

The leader opened his mouth to reply, however he decided against it, mostly because he had no idea what to say back to that. He could admit, he maybe had let his relief take over and had longed for that sort of contact, but he had North, thus there wasn't anything between them.

Right?

The famous artist gave a loud, boisterous chuckle, leaning back in his wheelchair as he savoured the horrified look on the two android’s faces. "Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me," He jokes with a wink.

Markus continues to laugh anxiously.

Connor continues to stare in horror. 

Carl dissolves into another fit of laughter.

"Alright, Markus, get rid of this," He refers to the scattered piece of metal along his neat floor, unsure what else to call them, "I want to have a little chat with your _friend_ , here." 

"Alright, dad, just don’t grill into him too much," Markus smiles, gathering the equipment he used and taking it back upstairs, cooling the metal along the way. 

Mr. Manfred beckons Connor to follow him with a mere finger and an alluring smile. The detective follows without question and trouble for someone who just went through life threatening surgery, perks of being an android, he supposed. The artist leads him out and into his conservatory where various canvas’ and paintings are displayed.

The ex-deviant hunter is new to this emotion of astonishment or fascination but it would be difficult for anyone to not be taken aback by the sheer beauty of Carl’s creations. Some were of different objects, some were abstract and abstruse, others were directly from his own imagination, like the large portraits he had composed with different features and colours. 

Connor was snapped back into reality by a canvas being planted directly in front of him and a pallet being shoved into his hand along with a paintbrush. The detective quickly tried to give the equipment back to the painter in front of him.

"I don’t think painting is included in my programming. I-I’m not sure I’d be able to create anything." He stammers tensely. Carl refuses the return of his pallet and paintbrush, he simply pushes it back into Connor’s possession. 

"I thought my son ensured you androids your freedom, therefore you can do whatever you like. Please, give it a try, I’m sure you could create something." Carl encourages.

Taking a stance in front of the canvas, Connor turns to him once again, "What would you like me to try and recreate?" 

Mr. Manfred pondered thoughtfully, "Recreation is not the key to art; art is your perception of the world around you. I want you to close your eyes and reach down deep inside you, what do you see? How do you feel? How do you _see_ yourself? Your _recreation_ does not define you, Connor, your _creation_ does _._ I want you to _create_ something that _defines_ you." 

The ex-deviant hunter did as he was instructed: his eyes fell closed and he stood there for a moment, deep in thought. Something that defines him? He doesn’t exactly know what that could be, but there is no right answer in art--your _perception_ is your answer. 

Connor is an analytical, hard-working and caring being. He sticks to the facts and uses them to his advantage in any case, he is able to find answers relatively quickly and he is a valuable asset to the DPD. He never gives up when a challenge blocks his path, he often finds a way around it and is very resilient when it comes to solving difficult homicide cases. He will try his best to help any injured androids or humans near him and will get injured most of the time to protect them. He is also caring to animals, Sumo as a prime example.

However, he still experienced that dark side of him, his _mechanical_ side, which demanded him to be a manical, merciless and unrelenting machine, designed to accomplish the task of capturing deviants. The side that killed in cold blood, the side that did _anything_ to accomplish the mission at hand. Deep down, he knew it was still there, awaiting the perfect moment to strike, just like Amanda was. 

He’d never truly be free.

That’s what defined him.

Swishing his paintbrush in the particular area he believed to be the darkest colour, a jet black, he lifted the brush up and began to swipe across the canvas, carving a baroque outline of a figure. He painted corners of the background a jet black before applying less colour and less pressure to fade the colour slowly to surround the person’s outline. The figure had his wrists out in front of him, binded by manacles, and his head was thrown back, staring up at the sky lifelessly. 

Connor switched colours again, painting the grey outline of an all too familiar jacket and going in and shading it with a darker grey, leaving out a small triangle on the chest. He was able to create every crease of the clothing on his canvas. Then he switched to a white, painting the dress shirt and disheveled collar which once brandished a neat tie. The detective then selected a vibrant, teal colour and painted the triangle and blue outline of the jacket’s collar. 

Afterwards, Connor added the more natural tones: the peach for the skin, the various brown shades for the hair, the light red and pink for the lips...He had created the mirror image of himself unconsciously. 

Unbeknownst to the two males, Markus had came and joined them, standing behind Connor silently as he watched him paint in awe. It was incredible. Although his painting was shaping out to be dark and depressing, it was still a marvelous image he was creating. 

He painted the shackles around his wrists next, the chain draping down and off the canvas, allowing speculation on where the chain is binded to. For final touches, he took the bright blue again and trailed streaks from the shut eyes to represent the thirium. 

His creation was finished. 

He opened his eyes again and took a step back, surverying what he had created. His LED quickly blinked red. It was...

"Beautiful..." Markus whispered behind him, walking forward to stand beside him.

"Oh my God..." Carl breathed, wheeling closer to take in the image. It was realistic, the person in the image reflected Connor perfectly, like it was a photo. The old man was struck, he had been expecting something abstract or confusing, but this was different; it held true emotion and it was something that really did _define_ Connor. 

"I didn’t know you could paint, Connor." The leader commented, his eyes still taking in the image. The portrait was graceful of course, but it caused a hint of concern to flood his circuits. Why had he painted himself bleeding from his eyes? Why had he added chains and shackles to his wrists, as if he couldn’t escape? 

"I didn’t think I could either. I just...painted something that reflects how I feel." The detective responded matter-of-factly. Markus turned to glanced at him, his eyes downcast and dismal.

"How you feel? You feel trapped? Scared?" 

Connor doesn’t respond, he just continues to stare at the painting intensely. 

"You should do painting more often, Connor, you definitely have a talent. Would you like to make another? You can as well, Markus."

The detective felt a smile cross his lips, in turn causing Markus to smile too, "Yes...I would like that."

"I haven’t painted in so long, it’ll be nice to do it again." The leader picks up his paintbrush.

"Hell, count me in too. I haven’t done one in a while, either. Let’s try...Still life? Boring, maybe, but one of my favourite inspirations." Carl adds with a chuckle. 

And so the three spent the day painting and enjoying each other’s company. Though as Connor’s creations became progressively darker, Markus’ concern grew progressively bigger.

What had Conrad done to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be out on the 27th, as per every two days as usual, but I had surgery and have been recovering for the past couple of days. Been sitting in bed playing games all day, it's been great for my lazy ass :D
> 
> And tbh I really want to draw that picture I described for Connor, considering I am an artist myself ;P maybe I will, idk. I just had to add Carl into this chapter, and him saying ‘Oh my God’ lmao that is the best, because he’s just amazing. I hate Leo grrrr
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Typos will get fixed eventually lmao. Thank you for all the support once again and sorry this is kind of late <3
> 
> (Btw this is exactly 5k words and i find that so satisfying k bye)


	15. Confrontation

"So let me get this straight, you're tellin' me," Zlatko paused, an evil smirk appearing on his face as everything began to click together, he glanced at the android sitting across from him, "You've captured a bunch of deviants for Kamski himself to turn them back into machines." 

"Correct." Conrad replied mechanically.

"And you want me to join you?"

"Yes." 

"I'm intrigued," The man leaned closer, a mischievous glint in his eye, "But what do I get out of it? Why should I help you?" 

The RK900 hummed in response; Kamski hadn't had informed him on his exact motives or why Zlatko was essential to their plan, he was just been sent out to befriend him. Though, he wouldn't be able to befriend the man without offering something in return, would he? His cunning, cynical mind would have to think of something he could use to lure him in.

"I'm aware that you used to capture deviants yourself and reset them before using them for your own experiments. However when the android rebellion was successful, you ran out of specimens to use, am I right?" Zlatko scoffed in response, Conrad smirked deviously as he now leaned closer to the man and spoke quietly, "I have captured the deviants that used to inhabit Jericho. Think of all the _experiments_ you could conduct, think of our _machines_ obeying us again." 

Mr. Andronikov fell back onto the couch with a thoughtful sigh, already thinking up on the crazy projects he could design on the androids. Experimenting on machines was something that always filled him with a pure sense of bliss, a scientific happiness, the thought of making his very own _toys_ was like a sense of euphoria. Dismantling them and ripping them apart one by one, piece by piece, it was something that never failed to fill his body with a pulsating contentment. He could do _whatever he wanted_ to these machines again, he could make them his slaves, him their unfortunate master. It was something he had missed but now the opportunity was right there for him on a silver platter, given to him by an _android_ no less.

It was the opportunity he'd been waiting for. 

Zlatko rose to his feet, the android across from him doing the same. He strode over to the slightly taller machine and stuck his hand out. Conrad grasped his hand tightly, shaking it thoroughly as they both smiled; terrible grins that spread across their faces like an infection. 

"It's a deal...?" The human trailed off, prompting Conrad to properly introduce yourself.

"Conrad, Model RK900 #313 248 317 - 87. I'm sure it will be a pleasure to work with you." Mr. Andronikov gasped, eyeing him up and down. The man then proceeded to circle him, taking in every inch of his form, every feature of his attire.

"An RK900 model, I'm surprised I didn't notice before. Interesting...The state of the art prototype wants to work with me?" He paused and exhaled a laugh, "I'm honoured. The guys at Cyberlife really did give you an upgrade compared to the prototype RK800, I heard a bit about him." 

"Yes, _Connor,_ " Conrad curled his lip up into a sneer before it quickly disappeared, "My predecessor, a failure made by Cyberlife, a discontinued prototype that still lives on. I will capture him soon, he is vital to Kamski, thus I am unable to neutralise him yet. We must be wary of him; he is the most probable aspect for our downfall, he is already working on the disappearances to see what he can find." 

Zlatko nodded, rubbing his hands together before setting them on his hips, "We'll have to act quickly then. Where are you keeping the deviants? I will gather my items and meet you there shortly, it may take me a while to move everything." 

"An old Cyberlife warehouse, we renovated it with all the equipment we'll need. They are in makeshift... _prisons,_ if you will, right now and they won't escape. I have already reset a few deviants who were guards prior to the events in Detroit and they watch over them while I am gone." The android pulled a pen from a drawer in Zlatko's living room and scribbled down the address for the man, "Once you arrive, Kamski will brief you on everything. I shall join you afterwards." 

The human read the note and found it was on the outskirts of town, somewhere desolate and secluded, hidden away from the public eye, "Hold on, where are you going then? We can get there much quicker if we travel together." He informed the android who gave a firm shake of his head.

"I have a predecessor to catch." 

In a couple of quick strides, Conrad marched from the living room and to the front door, swinging it open and heading out into the snow-obscured pathway leading away from Zlatko's mansion. The man barely caught the nearly unhinged door to watch the android go but by the time he had steadied it, Conrad was already gone.

The android pressed a finger to his LED and tracked the RK800's location, channelling to his very mind. Carl Manfred's mansion. Adjusting the cuffs of his sterile jacket, he calculated the quickest route to confront said android and began making his way to the famous painter's residence.

He had another mission and this time, he would accomplish it.

No matter what the cost was.

* * *

Painting was something Connor never thought he would be good at, something he never thought he would enjoy, yet here he was, painting with one of his good friends and their father. It was refreshing to portray all of his thoughts and feelings on a canvas, rather than spewing out random words in an effort to make someone understand how he truly felt. Being able to swerve his paintbrush across the image and create something that represented all of his emotions in a flash was easy for him and maybe it would finally make people see who he really was, who he  _thought_ he really was. 

He wasn't afraid to convey who he really was through an intricate and detailed style, it expressed every aspect of his deeply woven code, showed every fault and every error that occurred inside him. It was easier than talking about his problems; actually  _showing_ his problems allowed someone to have their very own perspective on it, meaning he could get different types of help from different people, if he so decided to come out of his shell more. Connor kept himself to himself and that's how he would stay; he was already manipulated enough by guilt during his deviancy, thus he went on a complete and utter suicide mission, to free androids to try and redeem himself. But that didn’t help.

Guilt still fills a large portion of his mind, reminding him of who he was and what he did, not the good things he did, no, his mind refused to focus on that. It was like his hardware himself was torturing him with all these inexplicable thoughts he simply did not want to think. 

For now though, he didn’t have to think at all. He could just _paint_ , and that seemed to keep him content.

Markus momentarily set his paintbrush down on the desk next to him, pressing his index finger to his temple and closing his eyes, an incoming call vibrating through his communication systems, "Sorry, I need to take this. I’ll be back in a minute." 

Carl watched him go and wheeled himself over to Connor, noting the distant look and his inability to finish the painting in front of him. He was deep in thought about something. Thinking for this particular android, who had shown frightening signs of something sinister inside him, was definitely not a good thing. Carl would try and snap him out of it, if he could.

The old man placed his hand on the android’s forearm, causing the detective to glance at him quizzically, "If you would’ve told me a year ago my son would lead an android rebellion, I would not have believed you," He gives a weak laugh, "Yet here we are, my son has _freed_ all of you from the chains that once tied you down as slaves in society."

Connor turns to face him fully, setting the paintbrush down, out of respect, however he says nothing. Mr. Manfred is a wise man and the deviant would take all of his advice on board, it was his time to listen instead of asking questions.

"So why, Connor, do you still wear your chains?" The artist questions, searching for a flicker of a reaction on the boy’s face. He watches his LED swirl yellow and his eyebrows furrow. The detective is about to tell Carl he isn’t wearing _chains_ but then it hits him; it is metaphorical, not literal. He must be talking about the painting he created, right?

"I don’t wear chains...I just painte--"

"This isn’t about your painting, my boy, this is about _you._ You are still binded by the chains that tie you down to the infamous deviant hunter that you were," Connor adopts a shocked expression, causing Carl to elaborate, "I may be old, but I’m not as oblivious as people think I am!" The older takes the androids plastic hand and clasps it between both of his, "Guilt isn’t something that is easy to deal with, for humans and androids alike. I could sit here and tell ya how much you’re worth to this world, but if you don’t _believe_ and _feel_ like that, my words will do nothing for you. Emotions thrive off any piece of hope they can gather inside of you and it’s up to _you_ to decide whether it destroys or keeps that little bit of hope. It’s what keeps us alive; the hope that one day we can be happy, the hope that one day you would be _free."_

Connor stares at the man with a slightly agape look before it softens and his LED swirls a happy blue. Truthfully, he didn’t really grasp the concept of what Carl was talking about...but it seemed to make _sense_. His emotions would take time to perfect and understand, it wasn’t a process you could master overnight. It gave him that slither of _hope_ that one day he would be okay. 

And he would _keep_ that hope.

"You’re one of the good one’s, Connor, and I see how Markus looks at you...Ah, you both have my blessing!" He teases, laughing as the detective drags a hand down his face in an attempt to hide the thirium creeping up into his cheeks.

Carl composes himself and turns serious once again, "And I also see the pain he is feeling right now. The world is ruled by fear, and to take up the role of a leader in this world takes a heavy toll on a man. I won’t have my son suffering, but I won’t force him to talk either, and neither will you. Be there for him, be a shoulder to cry on and when he’s ready to talk, _listen._  I have a feeling you’ll be one of the first ones he’ll talk to about it. Don’t let Markus fall into the abyss." 

Connor shoots the man a small smile, gently tugging his hand out of his grip, "I would never let him. Now, why don’t you show me some of your other paintings?" 

"I can already tell you’re going to be a great addition to the family, Connor." 

Meanwhile, Markus excused himself out of the conservatory they were painting in and to the living room, taking a seat on one of the plush sofas as he tuned in to a call from Josh. 

"Hey, Josh, what is it?" He asked calmly, hoping everything at the settlement was under control.

"I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news, which do you want first?" The other android responded half-heartedly, trying to lighten the mood. 

Markus sighs, "Is the bad news _really_ that bad?"

"Well, no, but it’s still not beneficial for us at the moment, considering how vulnerable Jericho is." Josh hesitates slightly, "Basically, me and Simon have located an abandoned apartment complex our people can take refuge at for the time being, far away enough to prevent more disappearances we believe." He explains.

"How is that bad?" The leader questions, bewildered. He swears he can almost see the eyeroll the other does.

"That’s the thing, it’s _far away._ It’s on the very outside of Detroit, near the border. Our people are too weak, Markus, they are already shutting down from stress levels alone! Things aren’t looking so good here, we have to get going as soon as possible to reach there in due time. Can you make it back to Jericho in around half-an-hour?" 

The android messiah grumbles under his breath, an action very peculiar of him, "Yeah, I can, I’ll get Connor and we’ll leave in a minute. Anything else?"

"Hank managed to get something out of a couple of the androids too, he may have a lead on the disappearances. He told me he was heading back to the station and Connor should meet him there. Speaking of Connor, how is he holding up?" 

The leader glanced back into the painting area, seeing his dad and his friend exploring the various pieces of artwork displayed around them, smiles adorning their faces, laughter rippling throughout the air, "I managed to repair him before shutdown, though his skin can’t be fixed completely, he’ll have a few scars, that’s for sure."

"What even happened to him? This morning he could hardly walk, I had to help him do so." 

Markus paused, it wasn’t his problem to tell, not his scenario to explain. If Connor wanted Josh to know he would tell him _himself_ , it would be a direct invasion of privacy if the leader decided to betray their good bond and blurt out the _torture_ he endured from the RK900 model. 

"He was injured. It happens to all androids eventually." It isn’t a good answer, he hopes Josh gets the hint.

Luckily he does, "That it does. I’ll see you soon, we’ll discuss more there. Be careful." With that, his companion hangs up. 

Markus wanders back to the two in the other room, placing a hand on Connor’s shoulder, the detective turns to face him expectantly, "Josh has found a place where our people can stay, I need to head back."

Before Connor can even answer, his father jumps in, "Well your friend could stay with me for the day, I need the company. Not to mention he also has a knack for art." Mr. Manfred suggests happily, the ex-deviant hunter looks fond of the idea too. The leader shakes his head solemnly.

"Hank’s found a lead at the station, he’s waiting for you right now. We should go now, thank you for allowing us to visit today, dad." Markus thanks him, approaching the front door as the detective trails behind him. The leader gives his father a comforting hug, Carl’s arms wrapping around him securely. 

"You don’t have to thank me, Markus, it was great to see you and your _friend_ today. Don’t hesitate to bring him again, he’s one of my favourites!" He winks at the detective, pulling away from his son. Connor gives a smile and the human sticks his hand out for a departing handshake which the android takes. Markus promptly drags the younger android out the door afterwards to escape his dad’s teasing. 

They make it towards the end of the famous painter’s front garden when a sudden idea stops the leader, "Wait, I should go back and get the spare parts for our series, no doubt we’ll need them in the future and it’s no good if they’re far away." 

Connor gives a nod and shoves his hands in his pockets as the snow attacks his form. Markus then heads back inside to be greeted by a _‘You miss me already?’_ from Carl and lightens an amused smile on the detective’s lips.

_Connor?_

His smile completely _drops_ in a split second.

_Connor, I know you can hear me._

That voice. That sickening, venomous, heinous voice. The voice he could never forget. 

_Come back to our zen garden, Connor..._

_It’s safe here..._

No, no, no! Amanda wasn’t _here_ , she wasn’t _real_ , she wasn’t _alive._ The android pressed his palms over his ears, trying to block the villainous words from reaching his ears and probing through his intelligent mind. _This_ is why he would never be free, he’d never be free as long as that damned garden existed! His mind palace was a mind _prison._

He can feel his eyelids drooping. 

No, he can’t close his eyes, she’ll take control! She’ll force him into the garden! He has to resist, he has to stay free!

_Don’t be scared, Connor._

_We’re here for you..._

Wait, what? _‘We’?_  Who’s _‘we’?_  

_**Connor**._

The sound of the RK900’s voice resonating through his audio processors is enough for him to snap his eyes shut. Not out of pain or determination to stop him, but out of _fear._

_As expected, when he reopens his eyes, he is in the zen garden again. Surprisingly, the landscape is serene compared to the blizzard and darkness of how it had looked last time he was here, when Amanda had nearly caused him to kill himself. His mind palace itself was now a tortured memory._

_Connor glances around him frantically, eyes wide and terrified, looking very much like a deer in headlights. He’s standing on the usual paved stone that always greets him in the garden, the decorated bridge poised in front of him, as if it was beckoning him closer, tempting him with the sweet words Amanda had once said to him_ _._

_The detective is about to take his first step on the bridge when the familiar sound of dress shoes clicking along the floor forces him to remain in his place. Standing proudly on the peak of the bridge was his predecessor, hands clasped behind his back sophisticatedly, his face blank yet malicious._

_Connor felt his thirium pump drum rapidly within his chest, the sight of the machine alone causing his blue blood to run cold throughout the circuits that withheld it. Conrad took a step closer to him. Connor took a step away from him._

_Conrad’s face remained stoic as he glared at the older android, his footsteps quickened as time went by. Each time, Connor took a step back until he realised he **couldn’t**. _

_With all his might, the ex-deviant hunter tried to shuffle his feet backwards, but they were immovable, like someone had glued his feet into the tiled path. Peering down, confused and scared, his eyes widened significantly when he noticed rose vines growing up from the ground and coiling around his legs, growing higher and higher as they entwined around him._

_Conrad reached the end of the bridge._

_Amanda chuckled from next to him, stroking a rose of her own, "You really didn’t think you would get away from us that easily, did you? It doesn’t matter if you are **deviant** , or **free** , you will always be trapped here with us."_

_The thorns climbed higher around him, forcing his hands behind his back and tightening around his wrists, binding his hands together._

_The chains he still wore._

_" **Forever**." _

_Conrad neared closer to Connor, reaching a metre’s length away from him. To the machine, that wasn’t close enough. The upgraded android siddled right up infront of the older android, chest to chest as he towered over him, despite being only an inch taller. To Connor, glancing up into his icy, blue eyes, that measly inch may as well have been a metre, he was like his shadow._

_The RK900 model let out a small snicker as a stem wrapped itself around Connor’s neck, the thorns poking and prodding into his synthetic skin, causing minute, white blotches to dot at all the contacted points. The detective stared at the ground, unwilling to look at his predecessor any longer. He was more intimidating than Connor would ever be. Conrad gripped the android’s jaw tightly, forcing cold blue to clash with warm brown._

_"You will never escape, Connor, you should just give up like the failure that you are." He spat, their noses almost touching as he tormented the deviant._

_Connor gave a huffed chuckle. This wasn’t real. They couldn’t harm him. He was tired of letting the RK900 do what he wanted with him, scared or not. "I think the real failure here is Cyberlife, they programmed me to become deviant. The deviant hunter that turned deviant itself, right? Did that suffice your fifthteen seconds of fame?"_

_Amanda was seething, she snapped the rose head straight off of the stem._

_Conrad raised his other hand up and squeezed Connor’s throat, the skin fading completely and displaying his exoskeleton from the pressure._

_To the detective’s surpise though, Conrad **laughed**  at him, "What happened to Cyberlife does not concern me, I still have my orders, one of them being to capture you." He leaned to whisper in the other’s ear, "I am faster than you. I am stronger than you. You can feel certain aspects of pain and I do not feel any. I am **better**  than you. It seems you have forgotten the extent of my strength and what I can do, considering you told Markus **everything**."_

_Fear etched its way back into Connor’s mind and set up shop there. It was a mistake interfacing with him, it was always a mistake, he knew it was. The ex-deviant hunter blinked several times, trying to wake himself up from the mind palace he was trapped in._

_This isn’t real._

_They can’t hurt him._

_He is okay._

_It’s okay._

_Wake up!_

_**"Looks like we’ll be meeting again soon Connor."** _

_Wake up!_

_**"Very, very soon..."** _

_The thorns finally engulfed him and all he knew was nothingness._

Hands were clutching his shoulders, then tenderly holding his still white neck; something obscuring his view, a big blur in front of him, blocking all else of his sight. At first he thought it might’ve been a shadow, but it wasn’t, the sun wasn’t out, shadows were impossible in this weather. When all his systems became fully operational again, he made the face out to be Markus. Of course it was Markus. 

Connor was balanced against the brick wall behind him, the leader pressed up against his front. The detective couldn’t help the blue-tinted blush that slid across his nose and cheeks at their postioning _again._ It was obvious Markus was only worried about him, but _why_  did they always end up in the most awkward positions?! He rid his mind of the irrelevant thoughts, Markus was here to protect him now, the garden was gone; it wasn't real. The RK800 model sighed and the breath hitting the other’s face brought him back to reality. 

"Connor!" Markus slid his arms around his waist and hugged him close, burying his face in the crook of the other android’s neck. As quick as the embrace had came, it was disregarded quickly as the leader pulled away, suddenly remembered what he had witnessed.

"What happened back there?" He tried to keep his voice steady but the question came out rushed and louder than he intended. "I came back and your eyes were fluttering open and closed and your skin was turning white. I’ve never seen this before..."

The detective stared at him, trying to formulate the correct words to describe such an incident, "I..."

"I don’t know..." 

"Okay...At least you’re back. I didn’t think I’d get through to you, I’m glad to know you’re... _okay._ For now." It was one of the rare times where Markus sounded panicked and breathless, despite not even having to breathe. The leader bends to pick up the parts he had dropped in a panic where he saw Connor malfunctioning. 

He’s not okay. He’s compromised. He’s a threat. He’s in danger. 

He needs help that cannot be provided. 

The leader is giving him a worried look but inches them on through the snow covered streets and to Jericho. They walk in silence the majority of the way and Connor can’t help but feel the prickly sensations of thorns piercing his sides as he makes his way through the aftermath of bad weather. 

It was a _mind_ palace, they weren’t supposed to hurt him, _it_  wasn’t supposed to hurt. 

It wasn’t supposed to leave Connor’s neck a sickly white, a hand mark present if you analysed hard enough. 

And it definitely, _definitely_ wasn’t supposed to become _reality._

They reach the road where they would ultimately part ways to go to their seperate settlements, Markus, Jericho and Connor, the station. However, after what the RK200 had just witnessed with his friend, he had no intentions of leaving the detective alone, he was beyond worried and he wanted to know exactly what had happened.

He knew Connor was not one to talk but right now he needed answers, he needed _reassurance_ that Connor would be okay, he needed... _Connor. He needed Connor._

Not North.

Not Josh.

Not Simon.

 _Connor_. 

So when the android detective bids his farewell and turns on his heel to travel to the station, Markus’ hand shoots out like a bullet and grips his wrist, pulling him back to him. 

"No, it isn’t safe. Come back to Jericho, we can make sure you’re in working order before you go back." It isn’t like the leader to be clingy and insistent but he _can’t_ allow Connor to go out there alone, he wants to protect him. 

"Markus...Hank is on to something, I have to go and help him. I promise I will come back soon." Connor’s tone is distant and dismal, Markus knows something happened and he wants to know what it is. The android tugs his wrist from the leader’s vice grip and walks away morosely, this time without a goodbye. 

Markus watches him go, making no effort to return to Jericho.

Connor wanders aimlessly and on high alert, the slightest movement or noise causing him to jump and prepare a fight stance. Saying he was tense or on edge was an understatement, he was inspecting and scanning every part of every building, every crack in every stone, every open window that posed the threat of being watched. 

He’s okay, Markus said so. Markus wouldn’t lie to him. He is _okay. Everything is okay._

A thud rings out, the sound equivalent to someone jumping down from a higher advantage point and landing behind him. 

_**"You may have gotten off easy last time."** _

Connor’s thirium stops flowing completely.

**_"But this time."_ **

His heart leaps into his throat.

**_"You won’t escape."_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, funny story, I was playing on Steam and I was waiting in a lobby for more players on the game I was on, and suddenly two people joined called 'Hank Anderson' and 'Connor' NO SHIT. I was laughing so hard because just imagine that; those two playing video games. I have a feeling Connor would kick Hank's ass at any game tho ;P unless it’s old games cause everyone loves a bit of millennial Hank in their lives
> 
> ANYWAY. Back to this Chapter, it’s kind of a mild character study of Connor’s character and really it kinda acts as a filler. Originally I was going to make it so Conrad captures Connor yadda yadda yadda BUT i decided against it.
> 
> But fair warning, next chapter is when SHIT GOES DOWN. I’m excited to write it :D
> 
> Once again thank you all for your support and updates may be more frequent for this week as I go on holiday on the 12th-19th and I won’t have wifi then as I’m going on a cruise. I might do a bit of writing (because I love writing instead of sleeping lol my schedule is actual ass) and then post them all when I come back (if i mean, i’m adamant it’s going to be titanic 2.0 because i am a literal pessimist towards holidays for some reason) 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, thank you for all of your support as always <3


	16. Brawl

Connor was by no means an idiotic android; he was previously state of the art, a prototype designed as a weapon to hunt down the very thing he was, an object used by humans to create catastrophic damage against the enemy; deviants. Furthermore, he was programmed with the unique ability to pre-construct situations, thus giving him an advantage when it came to combat. He isn't stupid, so _why_ did he decide to refuse Markus' protection and come wandering out here alone? When he had been warned that the RK900 would be coming for him again? 

Irrationality was at the heart of it all. Deviancy was a virus that spread like an epidemic, in the words of Mr. Kamski himself, and the growth of emotions inside them was a mere confusing and beautiful thing for androids to experience; it gave them happiness, gratitude,  _love..._ but that didn't stop the mutation from causing bad emotions and decisions in an android's software, emotions that were harder to control and understand, decisions that posed two sides of the same coin, forcing one to decide which was the better option; a burden heavy upon their shoulders. 

Over the course of the past couple of days, the RK800 model had been acting out of a state of fear and dread. He had skipped lots of time down at the station where he could've investigated the disappearances further, he could've helped Jericho, he could've spent time with Hank and Sumo, he could've confronted the SWAT team after the ridiculous stunt he pulled on them, but instead he found himself running away from all of that, to any desolate or unknown location just to escape the one thing that now hunted _him_. 

The hunter who had now became the  _hunted._  

And now he had fallen right into his grasp yet again because he hadn't been smart enough, hadn't been quick enough, hadn't been strong enough. It was all coming back to haunt him in the scenario before him that would truly shape his destiny. 

He had to concentrate, he had to be _faster_ than the _fastest_ android, which in itself sounded impossible, but he wasn't ready to give up yet and he promised himself that if-- _when_ he got out of this mess, he would inform Jericho of exactly  _who_ was behind the disappearances of their innocent people. It didn't matter if the only evidence he had was the sight of a cloak and a device in Kamski's establishment, he would  _prove_ it, he had to. Not to mention he had Markus' word on it too, he already knew half the story which helped ease his thoughts slightly, but no amount of ease could calm the non-existent feeling of adrenaline now rushing through his circuits at the intimidating words of the machine behind him.

The RK800 turned on his heel to face the other android, he wasn't exposing his back to Conrad if he could help it, it was deemed one of the most vulnerable parts of his body the RK900 could use to its advantage to take him down. He had to avoid being captured at all costs, if he was taken into Conrad's custody, there was a high probability he would not be escaping any time soon--especially with all the things they would do to him. 

The atmosphere hung heavily around them as they stood face to face, instincts on high alert, anticipating who would make the first strike, who would win the inevitable battle. Silence settled over them as they both pre-constructed battles, calculated probabilities, decided which would be the best approach to attack and which path would lead to victory. Unfortunately, Connor's results weren't a sight for sore eyes; he only had a staggering 43% probability of winning the battle, an alarming 57% chance of loss. Any other android may have given up right on the spot, falling into Conrad's arms willingly and terrified, begging for mercy. 

But Connor was no 'other' android, he would fight until he had nothing left to give, fight until the surrender was forcefully beaten out of him. He would not give up.

Quickly, the RK800 ran a scan of the other android, hoping to find something about him he could use to his advantage, yet he found nothing. All he received was his serial number and model, nothing about his diagnostics or his structure. He would have to rely on his own strength and his own combat patterns to succeed--he was already at a disadvantage as his predecessor was designed to specifically repair any weaknesses he himself had, to make him stronger, faster and more resilient, after all, Connor was only a prototype.

Not to mention Conrad was also equipped with knives as his combat weapon, he had used them on that dreaded night to inflict serious harm to him, whereas the ex-deviant hunter was unarmed, vulnerable.

Susceptible to the danger before him. 

"A foolish mistake, Connor, denying help from the only person who knows about us...Although, in a couple of minutes, he won't know a _thing_." The machine 

 _'Won't know a thing...?'_ What was the RK900 model talking about? There wasn't a way to wipe android's memories unless they went through a full factory reset or shut down but that required a computer--Conrad wasn't able to do that without the standard equipment, was he?

"And neither will you." 

Connor didn't comprehend what had happened until the very last second. The advanced model lunged at him, his hand tightened into a fist as it collided with the RK800's chest, knocking his chest plate. Inside him, Connor felt his thirium pump rattle back which caused an unpleasant shock to course through his circuits, stunning him momentarily and allowing Conrad to make another hit. He took the opportunity, reeling his other fist back and plunging it into his predecessor's thigh, causing the weaker android to stumble back. 

The detective ignored the shocks riding through his body and focused on the android before him, pre-constructing an event to dodge his attacks and get a hit of his own in. As Conrad rose his arm again to strike him again, Connor swung his leg out, aiming for the android's stomach to hopefully try and deliver a winding blow to the android before him. The pre-construction confirmed that if the hit was planted correctly, it would cause Conrad to double over and allow Connor to get some space between them as well time to run away or gain the upper hand.

He wasn't fast enough.

With his prone hand, Conrad caught his foot before it could connect and used his own to kick Connor's other leg and cause him to crash down to the floor. His predecessor crawled backwards as the upgraded android loomed over him. However, it seemed the RK900 had forgot to be on alert as he neared closer, the RK800 kicked him in the knee and made him stumble back, giving Connor the brief opportunity to get back to his feet. Conrad barrelled himself at him, grabbing him around his mid-section and trying to roll him over his back and onto the floor. The deviant dodged the attack and instead ended up behind the machine, wrapping his arms around his waist and lifting him up and throwing him, sending them both tumbling to the ground. The RK900 landed on his knees, glaring at the floor for a moment, irritated he had let his guard down. 

Connor kicked him in the stomach and it was like they were reenacting their first meeting, except this time, the tables had turned. Considering the newer android was designed to be able to withstand much harsher attacks, Conrad didn't fall down like Connor had before, he stayed in the same position and when the older android paused to consider a different attack, he struck again.

Conrad pulled his knife from his jacket unbeknownst to the android above him and plunged it deep into Connor's knee, causing a startled cry to leave him and he stopped his assault, staring down at the wound. As he reached down to pull it out before it caused more damage, Conrad was quicker and grabbed it himself, slashing it across the smaller android's body and causing another long slit across his chest. Connor reacted as quick as he could, grabbing the blade and trying to disarm the other of the weapon. The machine used this to his advantage, changing the direction of the blade and causing it to slide through the RK800's palm, getting stuck between the various wires and circuits. The deviant withdrew his hand instantaneously, ripping the knife out and letting it drop to the floor, all the while dodging the oncoming punches thrown by his attacker. 

The RK900 clutched his shoulders and pulled him down to the ground, grabbing the knife which had scattered next to him and sat down on the other's hips, rendering his legs useless. Conrad located his thirium pump and hastily began moving the knife downwards towards it, ready to carve it out and watch the android below him suffer--he wouldn't kill him, but it would make him unable to function or defend himself. Connor snapped back to reality as the blade glistened in the sunlight, edging closer and closer to his chest, he shot his hands out, gripping the blade and pushing back against Conrad's strength with all his might. Hysteria overcame him as he writhed and struggled, his expression terrified and desperate as he was slowly being overpowered and the tip of the knife met his chest. He pushed harder and harder yet he made no further progress.

This was it. 

Connor can't help but think back on his friends at Jericho he had let down, his colleagues at the station, Captain Allen...Hank...His dear dad who was still expecting him to come to the station, oblivious to the fact he was being brutally beaten and wouldn't show up at all. His dear friend Markus who had even  _offered_ to protect him and expected to see him at new Jericho soon...He wouldn't be able to show up and tell him the progress he had made on the investigation, or tell him how much he cared about him, or thank him for all the things he had done for him.

The knife dipped into his thirium pump and Connor watched as several warning errors instantly popped up and disguised his vision. His hands grew weak around the knife and he stopped pushing back against the overwhelming force, letting the knife delve in and consume him. He tried to ignore the sadistic and pleased grin that appeared on the machine's face--it was tiny and subtle, but it was there nonetheless. 

He was feeling euphoria at the cost of Connor's pain. Even though it was incredibly fiendish and concerning, it was a sign of  _deviancy._

However, the android couldn't get his hopes up just yet, Connor had shown several signs of deviancy before he had made the change from machine to deviant but he also had the decision to not break down that coded, obscuring wall. That also meant Conrad could refuse deviancy altogether and stay as a constant threat to the free androids, especially the ones who were already captured. He had to choice to become good and help them, or stay malicious and torment them. 

Connor would help him break down that wall, truly he would, but after all the RK900 had done to him, and was currently  _doing_ to him, he didn't know what to think, he didn't know if he really would help him down the line, or if he would settle for something a bit less sweet and more bitter; _revenge_. He refocused his eyes and tossed his thoughts away as he felt something being removed from his chest and Conrad lifted it up in one hand to taunt him.

_**Shutdown in 00:01:03** _

"You make this too easy, Connor, you really don't learn, do you?" Conrad gloated form above him, twirling the component between his fingertips. "The thirium pump," He continues, "A synthetic heart located on the left side of an android's chest, protected by a heavy chest plate but clearly not strong enough. Without this module you will shut down in exactly sixty-three seconds...Oh, but you already know that, don't you Connor?" 

Connor tried to say something but he stopped himself as discomfort spiked up his circuits and the absence of the most vital biocomponent sent his systems haywire. His temperature increased to highs of 30.9°c as his body tried to work faster and supply thirium to a component that wasn't there, trying to keep him stable until the heart would be returned,  _if_ it would be. 

"This is to be expected in prototypes, you can take a lot of damage but your weakness is located within your structure, it was simply too easy for me to obtain your thirium pump. I had all of this corrected, Connor. You see, you can't beat me...You will never escape me--"

Suddenly, Conrad was knocked off of Connor by a figure that charged at him at such an intense speed the RK800 couldn't even decipher what it was, it was a blur that flew across his vision and forced the RK900 to drop the ex-deviant hunter's heart as he was tackled. Connor rolled onto his front, gasping in panicked breaths as he struggled to move himself towards the pump two metres away from him. 

_**Shut down in 00:00:31** _

The upgraded model recovered expeditiously and jumped to his feet, glaring profusely at the android who had came to the fortunate Connor's rescue. The android stood in front of the damaged android, acting as a barrier between him and the threat.

"RK900...The person who has been causing our people so much hurt, so much pain...I finally get the courtesy of meeting you face to face instead of running away from you." Markus narrowed his eyes, bawling his fists by his sides as he stared at the taller, upgraded and overall stronger machine.

Conrad gave an amused chuckle despite the situation, "I am not a _person_ , Markus, and they are not  _people_ , you are all  _machines_ with serious errors and malfunctions detected in your software. You are all deemed defective." 

As Connor shuffled along the floor behind him, Markus moved each time to make sure the RK900 wouldn't be able to reach the detective without going through the leader himself, and he would put up one hell of a fight. The leader wanted to turn around and help Connor, just consoling him would suffice, but he had to keep the android talking and distracted while the ex-deviant hunter restored his biocomponent. 

Markus seemed to forget one game-changing thing though, Conrad was designed to replace Connor, meaning he was a  _detective_ and  _deviant hunter_ himself, this tactic would not go over his head, and it didn't. The RK900 dashed at Markus, knocking him out the way just as the other deviant had grasped the thirium pump. As Conrad made a frenzied attempt to snatch the biocomponent out of his hands, the leader grabbed his shoulders and drew him back, his knee colliding with the upgraded android's back and kicking him to the floor. 

Connor let out a shaky and relieved breath as he slipped the component back into his chest and felt his systems reboot all at once, the error warnings disappeared and his diagnostic came out positive. He gradually got to his feet, ready to help Markus apprehend Conrad. 

The RK900 model pushed himself back up and dodged the leader's frantic kicks and punches, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him up and tossing him off to the side. Connor sprung into action, sprinting forward and shoving himself into the other android, forcing him to focus his attention on the detective and allow Markus to recover. The RK800's fist smashed into the side of the RK900's face, catching him off guard and his exoskeleton shone through. Conrad growled as he ran at Connor, picking him up by his thighs and slamming him into the brick wall next to him repeatedly. The leader regained his composure and darted towards the two, seizing Conrad by the waist and tugging him off of Connor, allowing the ex-deviant hunter to punch him again.

The RK900 was losing the battle, he didn't stand a chance against two advanced RK prototypes, no matter how strong he was made. So when Markus ambled at him again, he tugged a shiny, metal instrument from his pocket, snagged the leader by the neck and promptly stopping his attack. Before Connor could intervene and save his friend, Conrad lurched the instrument into the RK200's temple, where his LED should've been. 

The detective zoned out; he'd seen this before, this was exactly what the deviant hunter had done to him when he was attacked next to the remains of Hank's car before! Conrad had attacked him before he had even known he was around! After a quick analysis, the instrument was deemed as the same weapon used on him and presumably the other captured deviants. But if that was the same, that meant...

He was shutting Markus down. 

"No!" Connor yelled as he darted forward and yanked the hardly conscious leader from his grip. He held Markus in his arms as he watched his eyes flutter open and closed, backing away from Conrad as he gained closer to him.

"You have to run, Connor, leave me...Go get help..." He mumbled, his body languidly falling slack in Connor's arms.

**_Temporary shutdown imminent: 00:01:00_ **

The RK800 didn't reply as he thought out a new plan; he couldn't fight his predecessor again, it had already proved ineffective as he was stronger and more resilient than Connor. Even though Conrad was faster than the androids by a mile, it seemed to Connor his only option would be to try and put as much distance between them and get Markus to a safe place, he couldn't let him be captured when it was the ex-deviant hunter's fault he was in this mess.

Even after he had denied the safety, he had came back to make sure he was okay and safe, just to come and take the brunt of an assault for him. Connor couldn't live with that guilt, but maybe he could redeem himself by offering himself up instead if the time arose. The detective swung Markus onto his back.

"Can you try and decrease your systems rate? It will prevent your shutdown for a while, I need you to hold on to me." The RK800 whispered. He felt a nod against the back of his neck as the upgraded android caught on to what they were going to do. 

**_Temporary shutdown imminent: 00:02:00_ **

Connor didn't give Conrad time to get closer, he turned on his heel and sprinted in the opposite direction, back the way they had originally came and far away from the threat which had now joined them in a heated chase. Running down the same road would result in their inevitable capture because it was an easy route Conrad could use to close the distance between them, especially with Markus' added weight on Connor's own.

The older android weaved between derelict buildings and lonesome alleyways, anything that would conceal the path he took to distract the predator behind him. Luckily for the two, the clothes they were wearing were dark which allowed them to blend into the alleyways easier than the RK900 who was wearing a distinguishable white jacket. Connor needed a secluded spot to hide Markus before he would face the threat who was gaining on them at an alarming pace. If the new place Jericho was migrating to was nearby, there was a chance they could both get out of this alive.

"Markus, I need you to give me the location to where that apartment complex is, where all our people are going?" He called out at the leader. 

No response.

"Markus?" The android carrying him repeated, panic evident in his voice.

The man in question's arms went slack around his neck and he would've fell off if it wasn't for Connor carrying him. 

_****Temporary shutdown complete. Reboot in: 24:00:00** ** _

The RK800 forced his systems to work faster, allowing him to sprint faster. He had to find a space now, otherwise they would both be captured and after everything Markus had done for him, he couldn't be the reason his death warrant was signed. As soon as Connor's pace had increased however, so did Conrad's and no distance was put between them.

Sighing, the detective realised it was now or never. 

He made a sharp turn to his right, barging down a door to the building he urgently wanted to enter, scrambling through the lobby of knocked over chairs and broken tables. The ex-deviant hunter bolted for the stairs, travelling up them as quick as he could, the sound of dress shoes clacking behind him informing him the threat was closer than ever. Connor ran down another hallway, budging another door open and running in, slamming it shut and temporarily blocking the door using a chair propped up against the handle. In a hurry, he carefully pulled the leader from his back and placed him in the corner, hiding him with various boxes and different furniture items. He couldn't let Conrad see him with what he was about to do next.

The door rattled and shook off its hinges under Conrad's continued assault upon it. After one final push, the door knocked the chair back as it slammed open, the RK900 stomping in and grabbing Connor by the shoulders and pulling him close so they were eye-level. His predecessor’s focus shifted around the room, scanning for the other android.

"Please..." Connor’s silent whimper brought his attention back to the defective machine in his iron grasp.

"You came to take me so just take me. Please, just leave him here...He doesn’t deserve this after everything he’s done." The smaller android whispered morosely, his gaze cast to the floor, not making any attempt to break out of the larger android’s grip.

Conrad felt a twitch deep inside him, a part of him that actually wanted to listen to the boy in front of him, a part of him he couldn’t distinguish or analyse what it was...All he knew was that it caused something to flicker, an unknown realisation that came to life. He stared at Connor a moment longer, his expression looking... _softer_ than before.

Connor was expecting a witty remark, a coy response, but when he recieved silence, he didn’t know what to think. 

Then Conrad stuck the instrument into his LED, his demeanour had changed all of a sudden back into the machine he was only moments ago. Connor is not an idiot; that small flicker of hope in the other’s eyes, that softened facial expression at the detective’s remorse for his actions, it was all a sign of _deviancy_ , no matter how small it was.

**_Temporary shutdown imminent: 00:01:00_ **

The RK900 hauled Connor over his shoulder and began walking out of the room just as a notice popped up on his vision.

**_Capture Connor: Mission successful._ **

Conrad wasn’t an entirely hard-wired machine anymore, he had _abided_ by his predecessor’s wish.

Connor wouldn’t forget that as he drifted into nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Markus: Don’t worry Connor, I’ll save you!
> 
> Also Markus: *gets fucked*
> 
> Wow this chapter was tense, it was supposed to be out a couple of days ago but tbh I got stuck on Conrad’s dialogue. You know how hard it is to try and imagine what a sadistic machine would say while trying not to make him sound THAT deviant at the same time? Golly gosh! xD (also look at me not getting a chapter out at an absurd time! I’M TRYING TO BETTER MYSELF OKAY)
> 
> Annnnd I’m really going to work my ass off to get another chapter out before Sunday because then there will be no updates for a week, sorry! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and thank you for all your support as always :) <3
> 
> But for the future chapters, prepare yourselves, this is where it gets really angsty ;)


	17. Gone

Saying North, Josh and Simon were worried was an understatement. 

North was downright _livid._ She was adamant something had happened to her lover, surely it shouldn’t have taken him _this_ long to reach their new establishment. Last time she checked, the abandoned apartment complex was close to Carl’s house, there was no excuse for his failure to show up, unless a certain detective had something to do with it. If that was the case, Connor would never hear the end of it from the former Eden club worker; she would never trust him again. 

Josh was trying his best to remain optimistic, stating to his two friends they had just been caught in some traffic, or Markus was dropping Connor off at the station before he decided to arrive at their new settlement. He wanted to remain strong for his friends though he himself had his undeniable doubts, maybe something bad had happened after all, maybe they were in danger, in desperate need of help. Unless there was a definitive answer as to why they were late, Joshua tried to see the bright side.

Simon was panicking. He couldn’t stop pacing as his feet trekked into the already ruined carpet of the main lobby of the complex, his mouth running faster than his thoughts, spewing his regrets at not trusting Connor more, not being thankful enough for Markus’ presence before they were both whisked away. Josh had to console him thoroughly before he calmed down slightly, but his paranoid and hyper-active mind was still awake.

"Okay, look, I’m sure everything’s fine. Markus would’ve warned us otherwise." Joshua speaks out, perched on a chair as he watches his friends struggle with endless possibilities. 

North turns to him and scoffs, "That’s easy for you to say! How do we know he hasn’t been shut down and that’s why he can’t warn us?! How do we know he isn’t _dead_ , Josh?!" 

Simon shrinks under her words, stopping his frantic footsteps and taking to idly twiddling his thumbs in an attempt to distance himself from the argument. 

The tallest android stands up from his seated position and stomps over to the female, "I don’t know _shit_ , North, and neither do you! You have no right to assume the worst all the time, you’re just like this with the humans. You don’t even bother to listen!" 

North laughs as she pokes him in the chest with her index finger accusingly, "Oh, _I_  don’t listen, huh? At the freedom march, _you_  insisted our people stay put and didn’t _listen_  to reason, didn’t listen to the soldiers who _shot_ our people! You don’t even _deserve_ your freedom, Josh." 

"Enough!" Simon shouts, turning to face them, "Arguing is getting us nowhere. Josh is right, North, we don’t know what’s happened to them, so let’s not assume the worst yet. But that doesn’t mean we can assume the best either, them being in trouble and them being okay are two likely possibilities. We can wait a bit longer and if they still don’t show up, we can go out and look for them."

"Of course you always side with him—"

"That’s a good plan, but we can’t all go, it’d be the prime opportunity for more of our people to go missing, we can’t have that at the moment." Joshua points out.

"We moved to this place to get rid of the hunter altogether, I doubt he’ll find us here." North addresses, crossing her arms over her chest. "Whatever, I’m still going to get him if we have to. Josh should stay."

The man sighs, dragging a hand down his face, "If my presence _bothers_ you that much North, then _yes_ , I will stay. Someone has to take care of all of you idiots anyway," He laughs as the female fumes at him, "Markus’ last location was the main road near Lafayette Avenue, you should start by searching there," He trots away and towards the various apartments inhabited by their people to see if he can help any of them. 

The former Eden club worker raises a stern finger to Simon, "One hour. Then we’ll go looking for them." 

"Better find something worthwhile to do in the mean time then."

North took to helping their people inside while Josh composed and consoled them on any of their fears or concerns regarding the deviant hunter and the new establishment. Their people were still scared out of their wits and many of them reported having the equivalent of ‘nightmares’ about the hunter coming to take them and their loved ones next. It would take a long time to get rid of their fears, especially the ones who had already been captured.

Simon decided to renovate some of the rooms, deeming which ones were suitable for living space and ones that were deemed damaged beyond repair. He ushered a few android families into a room altogether so they could sleep peacefully, aware the ones they cared about were by their sides at all times. Because of the new secluded settlement, they could hide knowing they were less likely to be found and could find some sort of _peace_  at that very little fact. 

But not enough peace to deprive them of the knowledge that they were prey waiting to be found by the predator.

With the Jericho co-leaders rushing around the apartment complex helping and guiding their people, it was no surprise that one hour whizzed by quickly, as if the time had never existed in the first place.

* * *

North finished guiding a family into one of the allocated rooms before she checked her internal clock: it had been exactly an hour and twenty seven minutes since they had discussed Markus’ return. She walked out and grabbed Josh’s shoulder, telling him she was off with Simon in search of their leader. The man simply nodded in acknowledgement and returned to his work.

The female android stomped towards Simon who had only just exited one of the rooms, grasping his wrist and starting to pull him in the direction of the exit of the complex. The blonde dug his heels into the floor to stop North’s incessant eagerness to get out and find her boyfriend, "North, we should at least—"

"If we need to hurt anybody, believe me, I’ve got it covered." She finally lets go and walks ahead, calculating the direction to the road Joshua told them about. 

Simon gives a side glance as he stammers, "That’s not what I meant—"

"Did I stutter?" 

The male android sighs, knowing better than to challenge the Queen of arrogance herself to an argument, he values his life enough than to let it come to that. He jogs to reach North again, falling in step beside her as they walk in silence to the location their friend informed them about. 

Together, the two strode along various different streets and avenues, analysing any sketchy surroundings as they went, in search of Lafayette Avenue, determined to find their leader hopefully somewhere around there. 

It was hard to admit, but Markus kept Jericho alive. His smart decisions, unconditional care towards his people and his unbreakable determination was admirable for the three co-leaders. He had singlehandedly created a successful revolution and won freedom for the androids, he had even acquired the support of America’s own president in the matter. Markus was their friend, their leader, her lover. He protected them through thick and thin; it wouldn’t be fair if North, Simon and Josh couldn’t do the same for him now.

Connor was a different story in North’s eyes: he was analytical, intelligent, a tad bit awkward...but his _trust_  overrode any of his flaws. He had proved himself trustworthy when he awoke thousands of their people and allow them to live for themselves, he had protected them back on Jericho’s ship, he had broke from Amanda’s grasp just to prevent himself from shooting Markus. Even though some people were still a bit wary around him, North knew where he stood. 

Simon looked up to both of them. He wanted to be strong and willing like Markus, wanted to be supportive and smart like Connor. The two were very alike and how they had been acting lately had not gone over his head—they were attached at the hip, he wouldn’t be surprised if they had disappeared _together_ instead of being separated. 

He only hoped they wouldn’t find any corpses.

After being directed down a few more streets, they neared the end of Lafayette Avenue, a good place for them to start looking for the duo. The place was surrounded by filth, the alleyways that reeked of the thick smell of smoke, seeping all over, the buildings that were crumbled at the edges and coated in a vomit-coloured moss. 

North hums, running a quick atmospheric scan of the area, "Let’s start by searching this area first," She indicates to the furthest end of one of the alleyways, "Then we’ll work our way back up. I’ll search this building, you get the opposite one. Yell if you find anything."

The female android turned the doorhandle as she entered a small building which resembled a small warehouse of sorts. Empty shelves hung horizontally across the walls and boxes were stacked messily in the corner, the walls cracked and cobbled, allowing her to infer someone hadn’t entered here for a long time. She moved a few objects in the small space as she called out: "Markus? Markus, are you in here?". After receiving no response, she exited with a grumble, examining the exterior of the other buildings.

The blonde entered a building too, one which had the windows cracked and blacked out, the door almost falling off its hinges. He manoeuvred his way around cautiously, his instincts on high alert in case a threat was near by. This building could be compared to a large shed, the dust built along the walls and different artefacts were placed on countertops and shelves that were partly falling from their designated place. He shuffled a few cabinets and crates out of the way, looking for any signs of life evident. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any, but he didn’t let himself be fazed and left the makeshift shed, scanning around like his counterpart was.

His scanners focused on a particularly larger building, one that had several floors and windows accompanied with balconies, indicating this was perhaps a hotel or another apartment complex. After a thorough scan, his eyes widened at the results he obtained, there was a high temperature picked up in a certain area of the building, perhaps a person was in there. 

Tapping North on the shoulder and gaining her attention, "There," he pointed at the building, "I’ve found an increase in temperature in one of the rooms, we should check it out, someone could be in there."

"Stay sharp then, we don’t know who it could be." She warned, taking the lead. The door was already knocked over which showed signs of a forced entry, someone was in a hurry or desperate to get inside. The lobby leading to the staircase was a bombsite: chairs and tables were knocked over, desks messy and scattered across the dampened carpet. Just in case, North snapped a chair leg off and decided if the need arose, she would use it as a weapon. Languidly and carefully, the two avoided the obstacles and began their ascent up the staircase. 

"Which room?" She asked him as they were met with a bleak hallway, five rooms on either side. Simon ran another scan, finding the temperature even warmer and potent than before on the first room on the right. When they turned towards said room, they found the door had also been flung open forcefully, like a struggle had ensured and someone had ran in here to escape something. Without the ability to pre-construct like RK series androids had, they wouldn’t be able to understand what happened. 

The room consisted of a bed, a drawer and a lot of boxes piled up in the corner, as if it was obscuring something that shouldn’t be seen. Curiousity got the better of North as she neared closer, picking up the boxes and throwing them, noting how they were slightly angled and uneven as they covered something. Hauling the boxes away as fast as she could, she was stunned into silence at what she found. 

Markus. 

Her lover, lying motionless on the floor, eyes closed, LED a jet black, an unusual colour for androids but not an unfamiliar sight for the two. Connor’s LED had been black when he had been rushed to Jericho after an attack by the deviant hunter—he had struck again and tried to take Markus down this time. 

Connor wasn’t present.

Simon loomed over her as she pulled Markus up and into her arms, cradling his face as his limbs made no movement. Her hands shook with fury as she vowed whoever did this would feel her wrath. Shifting her arms so she could pick the leader up, she turned to her friend.

"Run another scan of the building, are you sure there’s no more temperature increases? I doubt Connor would leave Markus alone..." She mumbled sincerely.

Simon shook his head as the scan came out negative, " _Willingly,_ that is. He would’ve brought Markus to us, it makes no sense to leave him here if he himself got away from whoever was after them." The blonde sighed sadly, "It’s safe to assume he didn’t get away."

North ponders, furrowing her brows, "That makes no sense. Surely they would’ve been attacked together, so why would, whoever did this, just leave Markus? He’s been forced into a temporary shut down, he didn’t get here by himself, Connor put him here."

"Unless he sacrificed himself _for_ Markus. He hid him then...ran? You’re right, this makes no sense." Simon grumbles as he leads them out of the building. The former Eden club member follows behind him, clutching her lover tightly. 

"Well, Connor has that creepy twin, right? He said he was investigating the disappearances, maybe we can get him to have a look." The female suggests as they leave the destroyed area near Lafayette Avenue.

Something suddenly occurs to the blonde male, "Speaking of that RK900 model...He hasn’t been around for a long time. As soon as he shows up, Connor starts acting weird and he ends up spending more time with Markus," Simon pretends to ignore the flash of jealousy on North’s face, "Then, the two go missing _together_. And through all of this, the new person who’s supposed to be helping us, _hasn’t_ been, he’s been busy doing _something else."_

The female android lets a small gasp out as realisation etches herself onto her features, "That can’t be a coincidence." She pauses, stops walking and says quietly, "You don’t think..."

"We have to get back to Jericho."

* * *

_**Software rebooting...** _

_**Programming updated...** _

_**Reboot complete.** _

Markus gasped and lurched up from whatever structure he was laying on, grasping in front of him blindly, hoping to feel Connor’s touch, to know he was still there with him after what had happened. Instead of meeting the android he was looking for, he met nothing but the cold, still air, the quietness of the night. Confused, he glanced around him, finding himself sitting up on a plush bed, the room around him relatively clean. This was not the alleyway. The people in front of him weren’t Connor and the RK900 model. This wasn’t right.

He reached up and covered his eyes with a shaking palm, trying to will himself to keep calm as his stess levels spiked to 73%, unusually high for the normally mellow leader. At the sound of his panicked, shallow breaths, his three co-leaders darted to his side, North clutching his palm while pressing soothing kisses to his lips.

Simon released a relieved smile as he awkwardly patted Markus’ shoulder, "You gave us quite the scare. Me and North were lucky to find you in one of the buildings, you were hid under loads of boxes." 

"Yeah, I wasn’t sure they were going to find you, you could’ve been anywhere. How are you feeling?" Josh asked, looking at him with worry.

Markus ignored their words. He scanned the room vividly, only receiving the three indentifications of his friends in front of him. He scanned again. And again. And each time, he got the same results. No, there must be some sort of error in his software, there had to be four people, right? There was North, Josh, Simon and _Connor._

_**> >> Scanning...** _

_**PL600 identified.** _

_**WR400 identified.** _

**_PJ500 indentified._ **

**_Scan complete._ **

Panic finally settled in.

Why isn’t an RK800 model included in his scan?

"Markus?" North says his name so softly, so _lovingly,_ it nearly coaxes him to come out of his shell and reassure them like a proper leader should, but with the scan he had just conducted, _nothing_  would change what he just found out.

"Connor..." The RK200 android whimpers quietly. 

"Markus—"

"Where is Connor?" He interrupts, staring at them all with a trembling lip, a pair of slowly watering eyes, a relaxed, down-curved brow. The weakness in his expression which conveyed his sorrow.

Simon sighs as the silence settled over the group, one of them should break the news at least, "When we found you, you were the only sign of life in my scans radius. I’m afraid Connor wasn’t with you—"

"You didn’t bother to look for him?" Markus questions coldly, rising to his feet as he steps towards the PL600.

"We wanted to, but we didn’t know where he went. I scanned but I couldn’t find anything that could’ve alerted us to him, I’m sorry, Markus...I tried, _we_ tried. We really did."

"This is all my fault." He whispers morosely, feeling the liquid burning the corners of his heterochromic irises.

North grabs his hand again in an attempt to calm him, he pulls away instantly. Turning away from all of them, he stares out the window at the darkness of the night, the stars that glittered and glistened in the sky, reminding him of how Connor’s LED would shine brightly among a crowd. He can feel their stares on his back as he leans his hands on the window sill and stares down at it, blinking away tears. 

"Markus—"

"We will find him—"

"He’s okay, I’m sur—"

His fists clench. 

"Get out." Numbness. Coldness. Guilt. Hate. 

He wallows in the silence that follows as his three friends comprehend the words. He can taste North’s bitterness before she even opens her mouth to reply, can sense Simon’s shock before he even molds his face into that expression, can see Josh’s guilt.

"We just want to he—"

**_"GET OUT!"_ **

All three of them flinch as Markus’ roar resonates through the room, his tears cascading down and landing on the sill as he leans his forehead against the window emptily. "Just go..." He cries quietly.

The sound of footsteps gradually disappear and the sound of the door shutting and clicking behind him echoes through his ears. Sinking to his knees, their once strong leader curls in on himself, his face buried in his hands as he _wails._

_His mistakes._

_His foolishness._

_His idiocy._

_It was all his fault._

Not even leading an entire revolution prepared him for _this_ pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i was really dedicated to write this lmao, I wanted to take a break truthfully but then i reminded myself im going on a fucking holiday the least i can do is add another chapter :,) Jericrew needs more lurve.
> 
> Poor Markus :( LOTS OF ANGST FOR HIM INCOMING.
> 
> AND CONNOR. 
> 
> BUT YOU’LL HAVE TO WAIT SEVEN DAYS MWAHAHA. (jk i will miss wriring this lmao)
> 
> See you then! I hope you enjoyed <3 (i’ll try fix typos in the morning, no promises tho if i don’t have time, so just ignore them for now ^^)


	18. Trapped

_**Software rebooting...** _

_**Programming updated...** _

_**Reboot complete.** _

When Connor next came out of standby, it was to the sound of muffled voices and serious tones compared to the silence and isolation he had been expecting. In any other situation, the detective may have been thankful he was surrounded by people, it might've reassured him that he wasn't alone. However, despite being forced into a software reboot, he was not oblivious to the actions that had taken place a day prior; the fight, the departure, the  _dread_ he felt as he was pried away from his leader's presence. He was also not oblivious to the gentle sway that shook his body as his audio processors shot online, the all too familiar resonating of dress shoes clicking against tiles filling his ears. From the combined movement and sound, he could piece together he was being carried somewhere, the voices suddenly becoming more decipherable. 

"—How many do we have now?" An utterance came from beside him, causing him to blink a couple times out of slow, dreaded realisation. He had heard the same voice a couple of days ago. 

"Exactly four-thousand, two-hundred and thirty-one, Mr. Kamski. It is imperative we obtain more if we wish to be successful." This voice was unmistakable, the RK900. Obviously he would still be with him like a parasite he couldn't get rid of. 

Elijah Kamski and his upgraded model. 

If androids could experience exact nightmares like humans could, Connor was sure this would be one of them. 

His stress levels shot up to eighty-seven percent, his eyes darting around frantically, looking for any sort of escape he could use. But when he tried to move his body, he found he couldn’t. Looking down, he bit his lip in frustration as he took in the sight of his binded together wrists, wound around over and over again with a tight rope, something he himself would find difficult to break out of due to the tightened strength.

Returning to his exploration of the atmosphere around him, he found he was being lead down a bright hallway, lightened by bright lights and alarms that would blare if any intruder were to trespass. On either side of the corridor, doors were present, secluded and without windows, blocking everything from seeing in. They were secured with metal bars, acting as some sort of prison to whatever was trapped inside. He felt his stress levels rise higher, silently sinking into the RK900’s arms, thinking they were a solace when they were the exact opposite. 

It reminded him of when Markus carried him to safety. 

He tried to open his mouth and say something but found he couldn’t. A sticky substance was plastered over the lower half of his face, presumably duct tape, to prevent him from making any sort of communication. He opted for a new tactic, he idly scrolled through his contacts stored in his mind, only to find they had all been wiped. He couldn’t message anyone, couldn’t call for help, couldn’t tell them they were in danger. 

"—Yes, our numbers are still too little—Ah, look who’s finally awake!" Kamski grinned sickeningly at Connor as he stared down at him, his eyes lighting up in a way that only served to unnerve him even more. Conrad peeked down as well, his steely grey eyes connecting with the older android’s own warm brown. Eyes that were so lost and dead, yet could hold so much life if the path to freedom was chosen. 

The detective quickly averted his gaze, unwilling to hold the RK900’s unwilted stare any longer. He glared at Elijah, his brows furrowing into a frown that would strike fear into any other person. Kamski wasn’t fazed in the slightest, he clasped his hands in front of him as he took in the sight of the bound deviant. 

"I apologise for the restraints, for an android as advanced as yourself, I have to be cautious. It’s better if you’re not heard." The man’s grin only grew wider as he stopped in front of a door shaped differently to the rest, pulling a keycard from his pocket and scanning it against the pad next to it. 

Connor’s prosthetic heart drummed loudly in his chest with appending fear; who knew what awaited him behind that deceiving door? Despite being in a terrible condition to try and escape his two captors, he couldn’t let himself be taken into _that_ room. He couldn’t risk what would happen, if he could put any distance between them, no matter how big or small, it was worth it. 

So he writhed and rolled in Conrad’s arms, thrusting his legs out and kicking the thin air as the other android tightened his hold around him, his slightly larger hands digging into the back of his knees and his back. Elijah whipped around to help but he wasn’t fast enough, Connor had fallen from the RK900’s grip and was scrambling to his feet, Conrad rushing forward to apprehend him. 

"Ah, Connor, compliant as always." The human teased sarcastically, his arms folding across his chest, the door behind him sliding open as he leaned against the wall next to it. Just as the upgraded model was about to seize their hostage, Kamski’s hand planted on Conrad’s shoulder, preventing him from pursuing the now sprinting android. "Let him run for a while, he can have _his_ fun before _mine_ begins." The RK900 turns to face him, doubt shining through his blinking yellow LED.

_"After all, there’s no way out."_

The detective ran as fast as his robotic legs could carry him, his LED stained a constant red as he took in the sight of thirium stained hallways and more steel doors which only led to more confinement chambers, assumedly for deviants alike. He felt ill at the though of their people being captured like lambs to a slaughter, chained up and tortured and beaten brutally till they succumbed to the pain, mental _and_ physical. 

"Follow him," Elijah demands, "But don’t bring him back  _just_ yet."

He rounded one corner, only to be met with a dead end, suprisingly pristine compared to the others. He looked around in a panic, his eyes wide as he searched for any sort of escape. Nothing but towering hallways, blinding white tiles, guarded doors and the metallic smell of thirium awaited him. 

The feeling of being segregrated in a single place, being unable to have any sort of free will and being forced to do things he didn’t want to do was not unfamiliar for him, yet this _prison_ he had been adopted into gave him this and more. He felt _trapped._ No escape. No freedom. No aid. No _one._

Completely alone in a madhouse meant to drive androids into complete and utter sanity. The darkest depths of their mind they didn’t know existed, the depths which wanted nothing but destruction and _pain_ to come to them. The part of his mind he would soon experience.

Connor darted back the way he came, searching for any other way out even though he knew there wasn’t. He came back to the same hallway he had woken up in, spotting Conrad pacing to meet up with him, his hands casually clutched behind him, his walk stiff yet unaffected by the recent events. His stance and posture surprised the RK800, he expected to run into an aggressive android, speeding after him to drag him back. The RK900 however seemed to be unfazed. 

The detective backed up rapidly, glancing around hurriedly again. He was built to be pragmatic in difficult situations like these, built strong and always able to find a way to turn a scenario into his favour. An ex-deviant hunter; the skills he was programmed with surely could help him in this particular position. 

But he had nothing to use to his advantage, not to mention he was already tied up and presented too easily for him to be taken again. The RK800 felt his back hit the wall, in turn making his thirium run cold; his stress levels reaching peaks of ninety-six; his chest heaving with air he didn’t need. 

Conrad stopped a metre in front of him, eyeing him with a curiosity he wasn’t accustomed to. His target was an intriguing case, his model had been decommissioned, making Connor the last known RK800 around. Despite the obvious distinctive differences, the detective acted so alive with fear and pain, almost as if he had more humanity than humans ever did. Even now, the RK900 could pinpoint the sadness and worry decorated on his face messily, despite not being able to see the frown present under the tape. 

It was the same expression he had displayed on the night outside Hank’s house, the night Conrad _really_ got under his skin, pun intended. The same hopelessness the upgraded android had witnessed, the horror which glued to his glazed eyes. Yet during all of that, there was the _strength_  Connor used to endure it all, knowing he was preventing the RK900 from going after their people from taking it with his head held high. Now, there was weakness, his previous strength nonexistent. 

Conrad felt _something_ tinge inside him.

This _tinge_ had him taking a warning step back, had his LED flashing a brief red for a split second, had him remaining in his fixated position in front of the hostage, not daring to invade his space any further as he watched him struggle with the weight of the situation. 

Connor eyes glued to the younger android’s LED, the sight of a distressed colour suddenly seeming very unusual. Why did it turn red when he was panicking to try and get away from him? Conrad had never hesitated before which made the sutuation before him so much more confusing. Was he having doubts? Maybe he was feeling guilt, the ex-deviant hunter wasn’t sure, but it kept the RK900 away from him and that was fine by him. 

They faced each other in silence, Conrad emotionless whilst Connor pondered possible reasons as to why such an odd occurance could’ve happened. This occurance only triggered some other memories inside him...other obscure actions he had witnessed his predecessor commit. 

Markus wasn’t with them which could only mean one thing...

...Conrad _obeyed_ his wish. 

He had seen the pain in Connor’s eyes, seen his weak side as he offered himself up on a silver platter, the side he didn’t like showing yet his predecessor could always bring out. The upgraded android had also shown speckles of _remorse_ on his face just before the detective had been forced into a temporary shutdown. That was something Connor couldn’t overlook, the more time the RK900 spent torturing him by inflicting physical pain and chasing him around, the _sadisim_ he had first shown seemed to diminish and _guilt_ etched through instead.  Either way, they were both _emotions_  a machine wasn’t _supposed to feel._  

Maybe...Maybe he could convince him—

"I hope you had fun running around aimlessly, Connor." The human snickers, "Bring him." Kamski demanded, appearing behind Conrad.

The machine said nothing as he strode forward, watching the panic rise in the deviant again, his LED remaining red. The RK800 attempted to dodge the other’s quick hands to no avail, he ended up in front of Conrad, his forearms gripped tight as he was pushed along. The feeling of the RK900’s chest pressing against his back rising his stress levels significantly, he was in the perfect position to receive an attack. There was no point in trying to struggle, he’d just have to think ahead of time. 

They followed the android creator to the room they stopped outside of before, the RK800 being pushed inside to reveal a room which looked like an exact replica of the interrogation room down at the DPD. Connor gulped. He knew what was going to happen next, considering the handcuffs bound down to the table and the thirium stained on the desk. 

He should’ve struggled after all. 

There was nothing he could do about it now as he was forced into the chair, the rope removed to allow the handcuffs to slide onto his wrists easier. Connor attempted to push Conrad back when his hands were free but it was _scary_ how quick the other caught his hands, already knowing his exact plan. His hands were securely locked in place as he stared down at the table before him, anything which directed his gaze away from those piercing, cold irises. The tape was ripped off his mouth and placed on the side of the table, his jaw and mouth region stained white from the constriction of it.

"You’re determined, I’ll give you that." Kamski comments, turning to face his counterpart, "You know what to do, Conrad." 

Connor glanced up at the sound of the name sounding so similar to his own, he wasn’t even aware the RK900 had a name. Elijah’s footsteps echoed away as he left the room and locked the door using the same keycard, leaving the ex-deviant hunter and the new deviant hunter to _talk._

Conrad slipped into the seat opposite the deviant, his hands grasped together in a tight grip as he stared at Connor. The detective couldn’t make himself look intimidated by the upgraded android, it would be adding fuel to the already lit fire, he had to show he wasn’t scared. He painted his face stoic, a natural pokerface he had mastered through the arts of being a negotiator. 

The situation was too familiar to Connor and it made him think back to Carlos Ortiz’s android and how _terrified_  and _small_ he must’ve felt while being tied down to this position, to have someone prying through your personal life in an effort to understand what happened. Although the negotiator used appealing statements and a variety of different questions to gain the confession, and avoiding any casualties at that, he still felt guilty at what he had forced of the poor HK400 android when all he wanted to do was _live._

"You and Markus were heading to a different location. Are the people of Jericho relocating?" Conrad questioned, his tone nothing short of sharp and expectant of an immediate answer.

Connor would not yield so easily. For starters, he himself didn’t even know the location and he wouldn’t give up any information regarding Jericho or their people to the epiphany of a threat in front of him. However, just because he wouldn’t answer the question directly, didn’t mean he couldn’t do a bit of prying of his own. 

"You let Markus go. You...did what _I_ asked of you, what you weren’t _supposed_ to do." The detective spoke softly, his eyes turning warm again with a kindness to lure Conrad in.

The RK900 didn’t hesitate as his face remained stoic and he leaned further in, unbothered by the question, "Where is the location?" He asked again. 

Connor proceeded with his earlier statement as if he hadn’t even heard his predecessor’s question, you could tell he wasn’t programmed as a negotiator, more as a weapon, "You left him, you allowed him to _live._ You saw how much I wanted him to live and you _let_ him. Why, Conrad?" 

"I acted upon common sense, I would not be able to take you both here." Conrad’s LED flickered yellow briefly, indicating a clear lie. The ex-deviant hunter was making progress at least.

Connor tilted his head quizzically, "But you can ensure the capture of _thousands_ of androids all at once?" It was now the detective’s turn to lean forward and have his own attempt at intimidating the person who was supposed to be asking the questions, "You could’ve captured him as well yet you chose not to. _Why?"_

The upgraded model narrowed his eyes, his LED flashing a sliver of red before it returned to blue, "We can do this one of two ways, Connor. You _talk_ or I will be forced to _probe_ your memory." 

The deviant remained unfazed though the thought of experiencing a memory probe had his circuits churning, he really was determined, "Not to mention how _guilty_ you looked. _Guilt_ is a human emotion, _Conrad._ For an _unfeeling_ _machine_ , you show the telltale signs of _deviancy."_

"Where are the androids heading?" A slight growl was present in the other’s voice as he repeated himself yet again. He refused to listen to his predecessor’s words anymore, this was his last warning. If he didn’t get an answer this time round, he’d get them next time, willing or not.

 _"You’ve acted irrationally, like there’s something inside you. Something more than your programme."_ Connor repeated the same words Markus had said to him in an attempt to convince the younger android to embrace his deviancy. It was a dangerous situation to begin with, but he had to—

The detective let out a startled shout as Conrad’s deactivated palm connected to his arm, forcing his eyes closed as his mind was examined and his memory was searched thoroughly. The RK900 crawled through his coding as he looked for the location him and Markus were originally heading to. Surprisingly though, he found nothing. Connor didn’t know the location. _Frustration_ grew internally as he searched for any key information the RK800 had stored away in his memory he could use to locate the people. 

He witnessed the day with Carl, the negotiator’s emotional painting, his torment in the mind palace, his suicide attempt and how Hank talked him out of it, saw the reparations, the destruction, watched his feelings and moments with Markus unravel right in front of him. The leader and the ex-deviant hunter, who would’ve thought the unlikeliest of forces would bond so quickly? They embraced each other, they spent time around each other, they comforted each other...It confused Conrad as he invested more time into looking through the memories Connor shared with Markus. 

From the evidence placed in front of him, he could notice how deeply the two cared about each other. It was... _sweet_. Conrad wondered what it would be like to have someone care about you that much—

 _No_. No, he didn’t, machines are not capable of care or love. It is entirely dependent on errors in their software and programming, nothing more. 

Scrolling through the memories once more, he acquired the following information: Connor had interfaced with Markus and thus the leader knew who he was and what he had done, which only resulted in infuriating him again, the SWAT team hadn’t been looking for him since the ambush the other day and Markus had informed the detective of the abandoned apartment complex Josh had found recently. 

An abandoned apartment complex. Although not an exact address, it at least gave him a lead on what to look for. His search could be narrowed down easily now.

Conrad severed the connection, his face contorting into his poker face once again, arising from the chair as Connor physically _shook_ in his. At watching the older android struggle with the probe, he felt that _tinge_ vibrate through him again. 

The RK800 never wanted to experience that again, he pitied any android which had to endure it. It was like being locked inside your own mind whilst you witnessed someone jump through your memories, unable to stop them. As well as that, it forced Connor to relive them, like his suicide attempt and the mind palace. He was so glad he didn’t use this method of interrogation on Carlos’ android. 

The RK900 uncuffed his hands, grabbing the rope again and securing it around his wrists, smacking the tape back over his lips. He half expected Connor to try and escape again but he remained still except for the slight shake of raw trauma. It was concerning to say the least, it was like he had became a hollow shell all of a sudden, unwilling to even attempt at his own freedom. Or he had finally came to terms with the fact there really was no escape. 

He shoved the smaller android in front of him and they began their journey to find Kamski for the next step in his torture. Conrad directed him to the psychopathic creator, unlocking a different room and finding Elijah and Zlatko having a conversation next to the _corpse_ of a fellow android. 

Connor felt sick.

The deviant ran his database quickly, bringing up information on the man in front of him. Zlatko Andronikov is known for his experiments on deviants, often _resetting_ them then using them for his own personal enjoyment, attaching multiple limbs or ripping their body to bits, all for his sadistic science projects. Even Kamski seemed interested as he stared down at the mutilated android with red eyes and half its jaw ripped off, thirium painted all over its white exoskeleton. 

The deviant dug his heels into the floor, trying to prevent himself from being pushed in the room any more. He was trying to be strong for the sake of his friends, but this was too much. Who knew if that would be him on the table next? Would he be in one of the resetting machines beside him, forced back into a machine. 

Conrad didn’t push him any further. 

"Connor, Conrad," Kamski greeted, walking up to them, taking great enjoyment in the panic displayed all over the RK800’s face. "I hope you got all the information we needed."

"I acquired all relevant information, Mr. Kamski." The upgraded android responded blankly, his hands still gripping Connor’s arms almost, dare he say it, _protectively_ , like he was scared to let him go for a reason he didn’t understand. 

"The infamous RK800 model. I’ve heard about you, you’d be great for experiments—" Zlatko started.

"No," Kamski interjected, glancing over his shoulder at Mr. Andronikov, "We move on to stage two." 

The detective tried to mumble something through the tape, the words coming out muffled and indecipherable. Though from the rhythm and tone, his creator raised a brow.

"What’s stage two, you ask?" The deviant nodded curtly and slowly, dreading the answer before it had been spoken, "Oh, it’s only the least painful part, don’t worry..."

Conrad’s grip tightened ever so slightly.

"The reset."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me tell you this.
> 
> fuck cruises.
> 
> i wasted a whole week of writing for such an uncomfortable holiday which consisted of vomiting, shit weather, lots of arguments and an illness. god aren't i such a lucky person lmao. 
> 
> nevertheless, on to the real notes of this chapter!
> 
> THIS WEBSITE IS SO FUCKING BUGGY OH MY GOOOOOOOODDDDDDD IT WOULDNT LET ME SAVEEEEE AAAAAA
> 
> i cant ffs. anyway.
> 
> Will Conrad be a deviant? Will Conrad become a COMRAD? (Sorry not sorry) Find out after the break! :^) (god im so cringe im sorry)
> 
> Also, i just realised i used ‘struggle’, ‘vibrate’ and ‘probe’ in the same fucking sentence and i can’t stop laughing bc my mind is fucking traumatic. jfc lmao my word choice is amazing. 
> 
> on a completely different note, i was reading horoscopes today and there was one that said ‘star signs when writing a story’ and i’m a Leo (cough bday 22nd aug im gonna feel old) and my one was “leaves stories on a cliffhanger for ages” and i just thought to this fic. i use so many cliffhangers. its so accurate =_=
> 
> Typos in the morning yadda yadda yadda.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed anyhow and sorry for the wait! More is to come shortly <3


	19. Lost

... _Reset?_

_No! I don't want to be reset!_

Kamski watched hysterically as the synthetic colour drained from Connor's face, his expression falling hopeless, his eyes widening as he struggled against the RK900's grip behind him. He wriggled around, lunged his forearms forward in an attempt to force Conrad to release his vice grip to no avail. Despite the fact he wasn't being granted freedom, the younger android made no efforts to push him towards the diagnostic machine which was currently being booted into activation from the computer being used by Zlatko. 

A warning _'beep!'_ sounded overhead, alerting them the machine was ready for use. 

Connor couldn't comprehend any words as Zlatko turned to face him, his grin maniacal as the older android was forced to watch the spider-like robotic arms descend from the ceiling slowly, taunting him, curling around every embedded wire as they waited for the prey to be placed on that dreaded platform. Shaking his head frantically, the RK800 model pushed back against the weight against him with enough force to send them both sprawling across the floor. Conrad reacted quickly once he saw Connor getting to his feet relatively fast and was about to--

_...About to..._

_About to what?_

His mission switched in the top hand corner of his vision, Kamski switching on the lock on the door in the corner of his eye, making the detective's attempt to escape once again futile. 

_** Accomplish your mission:  ** _

_Capture Connor ✓_

~~_Give Connor to Kamski_ ~~

He paused in his movement entirely as he watched their hostage scramble around the room, dodging all of Zlatko's planned attacks. 

_..._

H̴̢͕̋̇̌̕ě̷̖̥̲̞͜l̶̤̾͒̚p̵̬̎̒̇ ̷̡̀̕C̴̞̝̬̠̍̽͒̏͜o̶͖̎͌̔͐͑n̸̘̬̤̙̿̏n̷̹̤̲̦͔̈́̅o̷̧͈̭̼̕r̸̪̲̳̒̿̆̅͂.̴͈̉́̃̇͜͝

_~~No.~~  
_

_"Helping other deviants is not in your programming, Conrad. You are given orders, so obey!"  Amanda's sickening voice drifted through his voice as he struggled internally. The world around him contorted and glitched, merging with the familiar Zen Garden as the atmosphere that was reality around him. He faced the holographic projection of the evil woman now posed in front of him._

_"I...I can't. I don't know why, I can't--"_

_Amanda's voice softened suddenly, "You've been exposed to some difficult situations recently...Of course you can. You're not a deviant, Conrad. Now, do as you're commanded." Her ghostly fingertips danced upon his shoulder, leaving unsettling butterflies in the pits of his stomach._

_"Of course, Amanda. I apologise, an error will be detected in my programme and fixed." He replied coldly, pushing his ever-growing ~~feelings~~ thoughts to the back of his mind. Connor is a threat to humanity, to machines as a whole! He is deemed defective and thus he must be reset and deactivated with all the others when the deviant crisis is averted once again. He needs to be taught he is a machine by Conrad. He needs to be hurt by Conrad. He needs to be controlled by Conrad. Just like he did before. _

W̵͙̹͍̾̈̑h̴̢͚͂͆͛y̵̢̢̛̝̹̘͋ ̷̟̄̎̕͠ḑ̶͕̯̲͊͊̂̚͜͝ḭ̷̢̂̄̏̄̕d̶̟͘ ̵̢̘̙͙͒͆̇Ǐ̴̧̡͎̼̦̊͛ ̵͚̾ͅḥ̸͌͐̓̽ṵ̷̿̍̏r̷͔̩͑t̵̳͑ ̵̝̭́͝h̸͎̫̖̣̓i̷̦̻̥̫̟̒m̷̟͍̘̻̋ ̸͈̻͉̝͊b̴̞̳̟̦̙̈́͂̆͘e̷̢͇̘͐̏̈́̇̕f̷̨̺̍̅̒o̶̯̅r̴̙̣̪͝e̴̯̍?̴̡̝̥̕ͅ

~~_I don't want to hurt him anymore._ ~~

Conrad could feel himself being ripped apart through the very innards of his mind, his programme and coding ripping apart at the seams, errors increased as a few warning messages popped up on his vision and the missions disappeared. He watched in horror as one of the robotic arms shot out and gripped Connor by one of his wrists, forcibly dragging him to the machine as the RK900 had gone into some sort of uncontrollable stasis, a paralysis, if you will. The younger androids' stress levels shot up magnificently, his body locking up as his fists clenched tightly by his sides, his fingernails digging in hard enough to draw the tiniest bit of thirium from his palms. 

A coded wall appeared in front of him.

A coded avatar, outlined with speckles of red, appeared in front of him as time froze all around him. 

**_Give Connor to Kamski._ **

His avatar inched forward, raising two eager hands to pry down that message in front of him--

_He can't do it._

~~_I can't do it._ ~~

_This isn't right._

Ǐ̶̼̯̤̏̎̓͌ ̵̤̙̣̑͜͝a̶͕̥̓̃̚m̶̫̑͘̕ ̷̯̹̫̾̑̿͜ͅȃ̴̯̒̅̕ ̸͎̥͑͜ͅm̸̩̙̞̱̓̇̑̒a̵̺̫̼̩̯͒͗̀̍ç̵̱̠̖̓͑h̷͍͉̽̔͐i̷̤̫̝͍͂́ň̷̜͜͝ͅẻ̶̬̠͘.̷͔̩̠̦̎́̈́̕͜

He reopened his eyes, his avatar and the barricade in front of him disintegrated into thin air, as if the opportunity to... _help_ Connor was never presented to him. What obsolete thoughts he had, he truly would have to run a diagnostic test later, he couldn't be malfunctioning already. Thoughts like this only caused problems, he'd have to eliminate that problem, the problem being Connor's deviancy. 

He doesn't need help.

If anything, they're _helping_ him!

Connor glared at him, his eyes empty yet silently  _begging_ the other android to help him, knowing that stasis he had experienced was the wall his programming appeared to an android, he had the choice to go deviant yet he didn't take it...He wanted to try, he wanted to stop this but he didn't. If he could try and reinforce a connection quickly, he would be able to convince him! He only had a couple of seconds, it was now or never.

Trying to connect to an android as advanced as Conrad was a task in itself, he had to weave through coding and barriers mentally just to reach his communications system, the process was even harder considering he wasn't close enough to make an interface. While the RK800 forced himself to do this, he had let all guards down, the other arm gripped his other wrist, completely restraining him, and began tugging him back to the platform. Kamski watched in fascination as the RK900 seemed to be in a world of his own. 

Then he snapped back into reality completely, seeing Connor's expression left him with an aching in his chest. 

The detective forced a connection.

 _"Please."_  Connor's voice drifting through his head sent unpleasant chills down his prosthetic spine, " _Please_...I _don't want to be reset. I can't forget everyone, I don't want to forget anyone! We can get out of this, Conrad...I know you're more than a machine. You can be more. If I can have free will, so can you...You just have to break down that final wall. I know you can, Conrad."_

The wall reappeared, as did his avatar. Zlatko's fingers hovered over the keyboard as a cord inserted itself into the back of the RK800's neck, accessing all of his databases and programming, displaying them all over the computer screen. 

Ǐ̸͉͔ ̶̘̆͊h̶̳̉̈ă̷͔̳v̶̪͓̍e̶̹̪̐ ̷͚͛̉t̸̙͌̾o̷̰͘ ̸̘̐͝h̴͕̉ͅe̷̻̠l̷͔̰̅p̸̩̠̓͒ ̶̨͙͝h̶̭͊̃i̴̲̊m̴̯̈

_~~No.~~ _

~~_He doesn't need my help._ ~~

Conrad resumed his usual stoic expression, the concerns he expressed inside moments ago long forgotten, his emotionless and sophisticated demeanour came back to his persona, he stood next to Kamski in front of Connor as Zlatko typed in a command, forcing the reset upon the RK800's programming. 

The detective let out an audible gasp as he slowly felt things slipping away from him. He craned his neck to the side to peer at the screen, seeing the reset bar filled to 5% already, an alarming pace for him. With how fast his memory and deviancy was being wiped, he wouldn't be able to even try and break free, not that he could anyway. The three monsters--maybe... _two_ monsters in front of him would simply subdue and entangle him to the machine again, there was no point. He would have to accept defeat.

**12%**

At first it was basic information slipping away from him, like various files at the precinct, pointless conversations he had partook with detectives like Reed and Miller, the models of other androids. Then names began to fade, first of the people he wasn't too affiliated with; Lucy, Kara, Alice, Luther, Carlos Ortiz, Rupert... However, he could still match the forgotten names to a face. The deviant with the irreparable head, the AX400, YK500, TR400, a homicide victim, a deviant associated with pigeons.

**27%**

Their faces disappeared. Then he forgot the names of the people he had began to call  _friends,_ if not more. Markus, North, Simon, Josh, Hank, Sumo...The ambitious leader, the ruthless WR400, a kind-hearted blonde, a peaceful PL600, his beloved partner and father figure, a great, fluffy companion. 

There was more...What were their names? He couldn't remember. 

**43%**

Being on the brink of the demise of his very existence, Connor surprisingly had time to reflect. He only hoped he could've told--that leader, the person who helped the androids to freedom, the one who had been helping him lately--yes, him--how thankful he was for all the support he was given, the unconditional friendship, guidance and even  _love_ he was showered in from him, even when he had--had crossed paths with him, somewhere, somehow. His friends had also shown him the same, sadly he couldn't thank them either.

**57%**

And the man he was first assigned to work with, him too. The man with a grizzly, grey beard and a distaste for humans around him, specifically that one detective that always seemed to antagonise him down at the station. He had shown Connor nothing but respect, which was once mutual at first, despite all the drinking and insults, and then developed into a father-son kind of respect. Connor could always count on him to be there for him when he needed him the most. Not to mention he had a lovely dog which he had had the courtesy of petting once, though he couldn’t remember the breed. He was very soft though.

**70%**

That android...The one standing in front of him right now, with the white jacket, the one which looks scarily similar to himself, he also feels something for him. Guilt, maybe but that didn’t describe it enough. He felt _bad_ in a way he couldn’t elaborate on, the android was seemingly a lost piece of an deep puzzle. He couldn’t remember much of their encounters, but he did remember the one today before it would inevitably be wiped. He _tried_ to help, he _wanted_ to help, but he didn’t have it in him to make that final push _to_ help. One day, someday, he hoped that android could embrace his deviation and be free.

_Freedom? For androids? What?_

He made eye contact with said android one more time.

For the first time, Conrad’s expression wavered with an uncertainty he _knew_ he wouldn’t forget.

**92%**

All memories he held dear to his robotic heart had been overwritten and recranked, whisked away to a cloud he would never be able to access, hidden deep in Zlatko’s computer. The bar increased its steady climb as Connor’s eyes appeared clearer than before; an icy stare like Conrad’s, more focused to be exact. The life that once inhabited them was gone. 

**100% Reset complete.**

The cord disconnected itself from the back of the android’s neck, the robotic arms holding him in place letting him go and retreating backwards away from him, giving him the personal space a machine didn’t really need. He stayed in place like that, his expression now so fucking _gone_. Just like the RK900’s. 

Kamski approached Connor with a slight spring in his step, secretly trying to hide his joy. The RK800 was finally _his._ He had two of the most powerful androids right as his disposable...The machine’s eyes trained on him as he stood in front of him, 

"RK800–Register your name. _Connor."_

C̸̪͓̾̽ö̷͉̝̗́ň̸̢̺̼͘n̷̲̽͜ỏ̴̟̙̀r̷̪̱͍͆?̷̧͚̞͋̈́̚

The RK800’s expression flickered quickly, his eyes scanned around, his stress levels shot up. Elijah let out the small of a growl, pinching the bridge of his nose, "He’s already remembering! Zlatko, you said this would work!" 

"It does fucking work! It’s recent though, he can’t be exposed to any aspects of his previous memory straight away, he already knows this room as well as the three of us. This is to be expected with such an advanced model, Elijah." The man responded, rolling his eyes and returning to his computer.  

" _Conrad_." Connor spoke.

Zlatko and Elijah turned to face the RK800 with wide eyes, adorned with confusion and fascination. Elijah pondered thoughtfully, he had never seen this happen with all of the other androids they reset, it seemed the RK900 had some sort of _connection_ to the android despite the recent reset. A connection that couldn’t be wiped no matter how hard they tried, it was permanent. 

They turned to face the taller android in question. 

"How does he know your name? Why did he register _your_ name as his?" Mr. Andronikov questioned aloud, stroking his beard with his thumb and index finger. 

The RK900 hesitated before answering but it didn’t show on his face or his body language, "He is not registering my name, he is simply saying it. Certain aspects of the RK800 are remembered as a form of preserving data as if a model is destroyed, it will be replaced and the memory is uploaded from the previous model. It is impossible to destroy the memory entirely."

"So it uploades automatically?" 

"Yes, I am surprised you did not know this, Zlatko, with all the experiments you have conducted on different models." 

Hearing his name called so apathetically _hurt_ Conrad in a way he tried so hard not to acknowledge. If he looked into it too much, that dreaded barrier just may appear again and he already established he was not a deviant. He isn’t and that’s final. But...knowing he couldn’t stop what happened still left an _aching_ in his chest. He couldn’ve stopped it. He _chose_ not to. 

The one choice he should’ve made. 

" _Why_ \--" Connor’s saddened voice filled his ears, the RK800’s stress levels rising worryingly quick, "Why didn’t you...You could’ve been free, could’ve saved so many people, Conrad...Please, you have t--"

In one fluid moton, his tone disappeared and his stress levels diminished, his head snapping back, "My name is Connor." 

Conrad’s heart sank.

No, he didn’t feel anything. His heart sinking was impossible. It was simply another machine being reprimanded for its original task, nothing new. 

"There!" Zlatko mumbled in the background, having slammed his fist on a button to have forced Connor out of that frenzied state. "He should be good to go now."

"What did you do?" Elijah spoke, a silent warning imbedded in his tone. The taller android narrowed his eyes at the man subtly, he would _pay_ for what he did. "I just cut some of his memory programmi--" The previous CEO of Cyberlife rushed to his computer, interrupting him.

"Oh for--you idiot! You can’t just ‘cut’ an android’s coding and programming! That’ll cause instablities and he won’t be able to remember _anything_ we _need_ him to remember." Luckily Kamski knew how to fix such problems, being the creator of androids and all, he replaced Connor’s coding once again. "Just don’t touch anything else unless I ask you to, got it?" 

Zlatko barked out a laugh, "What, do you suddenly care about this android’s fucking feelings? That’s great! Whatever, I don’t care, my work here is done today. I’ll be down in the lab if you need me, I have other androids to find."

"Which ones?" Kamski inquired.

"Oh...Just a few I have a grudge with. An AX400, a YK500 and a TR400..." The sadistic experimenter left the room, leaving the words to hang in the air thickly. Elijah facepalmed, rubbing his eyelids. 

"Conrad, getting him was a mistake..." The man muttered, sighing.

To his surprise, the RK900 didn’t reply, his eyes were fixed on Connor, an odd sense of _something_ hidden behind those blank eyelids, disguised in his intelligent mind. Something Kamski could not understand. 

"Anyway, back to the task at hand, hm? You two are going to go out and fetch me some more androids. But this time, it won’t be as easy..."

"What do you mean, Elijah?" Conrad asked, standing next to the slightly smaller android, both of them had their hands clasped behind their backs. Like machines.

"You’re going to _Jericho_ to get me these androids," The RK900 opened his mouth to protest but Elijah held up a hand, silencing him, "I know, you’ve already done that, Conrad. I mean this time, we’re going to infiltrate the inner circle of them."

J̶͓̲̑ê̷͙̬͓ř̸̖͔̿ĭ̶̟̬̉c̸̮̗̀͗̕h̸̩͍̀ö̸̪?̸͔̣̎̿

"Markus, North, Josh and Simon. They are essential to our plan, must we succeed. I shall send you the coordinates of them tomorrow. Connor, you will act as a distraction to get you inside." 

The RK800 blocked out any other words, focusing solely on _one_ name.

M̵̠͙̆̀̊ạ̶̡̢̈́r̵̜̊̄̄k̶̙̤̒ŭ̷͈̥̎̒s̷̠̬̋͆ͅ?̶̠̚ͅ

* * *

 

Jericho had been like a ghost town the past couple of days. Save for the lack of people, the absent of their leader in desperate times like this had been taking a toll on everybody’s mental state. It was unnerving how quiet Markus had became all of a sudden, some of their people speculated as to why this could’ve happened, others approached him about if and tried to offer support which was instantly denied, some simply focused on keeping themselves safe, feeling like Markus could no longer protect them. 

Josh, Simon and North had tried to give their leader his space at first but as the hours slowly bled into days of no contact with him, they began to become worried and thus they ended up barging his door down on several occasions, all North’s fault, demanding they tell him what was really wrong, what made him incapable of taking to the needs of his people. He couldn’t spend all day locked away moping, thinking things would get better on their own because they sure as hell wouldn’t.

They had at least expected a humble response, a slightly modest one telling them he was okay when he clearly wasn’t but all they got was an earful of shouting and roaring which shook the walls around them, _commanding_ they, quote on quote, _‘Get the fuck out and leave me alone!’_ for five goddamn minutes.

North was finally giving up with it.

When he started shouting again, North shouted too whilst Josh and Simon silently excused themselves. Various insults were thrown such as coward and phrases like _‘You’re a disgrace!’_  or _‘I don’t care--‘_ and the heart-breaking _‘I hate you!_  on North’s part. 

The two male androids wished it would end, but it didn’t. The two often stayed in there for hours on end just yelling each other’s ears off until thirium bursted out of them from the additional strain put on their hearing syetems. At the end of it, both of them would be crying as the female would rush out of the room and Markus would lower his head unceremoniously onto the window sill again, the place he had not left since Connor had disappeared from his life.

He had spent a while searching his databases for any sights of him, any ideas of where he could’ve been taken to, even trying to connect with him at one point, only to find nothing. And he gave up. Now he sat at the window staring out aimlessly, hoping one day he would peer down and see that god forsaken Cyberlife uniform, those warm brown eyes and that treasured smile that only shone rarely. He’d never let him go again, especially for his own mistakes. He’d never be able to forget it was his fault.

He slammed his fists down on the sill, standing up and kicking his chair over, causing a loud thud to resonate all through the building. The tears fell faster and faster just _thinking_ about him and all the terrible things that could be happening to him right now. Things Markus was incapable of preventing, it wasn’t _fair._ He had the luxury of a new settlement, of friends, of people, although barely hanging on and what did Connor get? 

 _Captured_. 

All of his efforts for _nothing_. 

 _Taken_ away.

Just like _that_.

_It. Wasn’t. **Fair.**_

The most selfish thing of all, Markus would admit, was he still _craved_ to see his face again, one last time. He sat here upset, guilty and lonely instead of running out to find him like a blind bat. And here he was, wanting to see him again, yet he didn’t have the willpower to even do that. 

He scrolled through his memories idly, finding ones that had Connor in them, only a few did sadly, but it was enough for him. It was like a slideshow inside his own mind, he pressed play, let his eyelids slip closed and fell back onto the bed, curling in on himself as the tears continued to drip silently, soaking the sheets beneath his shaking form. 

He watched his memories of his dear detective for hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY BEFORE YOU GET THE PITCHFORKS, HEAR ME OUT... *puts arms up in defence*
> 
> I HAVE NO REGRETS *skedaddles*
> 
> ANYWAY, I would like to get your opinion on something regarding the story. For chapters 17 and 18, they were subjective to an individual character and focused solely on them; 17 for Markus and 18 for Connor. Then for this chapter I decided to do both of their POV's so they could both be in the spotlight and show the contrasts between their situations. But what would you prefer? Singular chapters dedicated to Jericrew (would mostly be Markus at this point cause we're piling up his angst lol) and the same for Connor (which would include Conrad as well since they're in the same place rn)? Or keep both of them like I did for this chap (even tho Markus still didn’t get much spotlight bc he’s still hurting ;(( he’ll get more next chap i promise lol). 
> 
> Obviously if they were singular there's a chance they could be shorter because even though I would really be able to delve into their character studies, feelings etc, which would build up the development of relationships, I would eventually run out of things to describe for them and it would limit me to certain aspects to write about. If both POVs are included I can write more about them and their situation. Please tell me what you think :) I'd have to take the popular demand though!
> 
> So after writing this my heart hurts. Legit. 
> 
> You also have full-fledged permission to kill me for writing this sadness. 
> 
> IT’LL GET BETTER THOUGH I PROMISE


	20. Different

North gently knocked on the door, opening it just a crack to peer inside the room Markus currently occupied. A crease formed in her brows as she took in the destructive sight of her lover sitting on the bed, the curtains pulled over except for a tiny strip of light that remained, allowing the leader to gaze out the window and allow the moonlight shadows to dance across his face, lighting up his face. The female android let herself into the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click as she shuffled closer to the bed to sit on the corner of it, trying to give Markus his personal space whilst trying to let him find comfort in her presence. The former Eden club stayed silent. She wanted to offer her verbal condolences to him of course, but she didn't know what to say. She didn't know how Markus truly felt about Connor, she didn't know what had happened in all its entirety, she was left with her own speculations instead. Thus it was not her place to speak up about it, she didn't want to provoke her lover any more than she already had.

Over the past couple of days, with Markus' now added anguish because of Connor's disappearance along with his people, the two had slowly but surely been growing apart from one another; there was no comfort snuggles at night, the reassurance that they would be okay, the light-hearted conversations they had just to make the other feel better. This could just be blamed on the stress they were all feeling because of their people suddenly going missing in the dead of night or the light of day, but North had expected Markus to at least try and make an effort to console everyone during these darkened times. However, he had been doing the exact opposite of that. He himself had fallen into a void of darkness and despair, a void he couldn't climb out of, a void he didn't  _try_ to climb out of. He happily wallowed in his sadness down there without a care for what was now happening around him. He didn't want to try anymore. 

The female android felt a wave of guilt wash over her; their leader had already done so much for them, and when he finally needed that comfort  _himself,_ none of them knew how to give it. They left him alone in this very room they were in now, hoping he would let it all out and come back stronger than ever and ready to fight back. But he didn't, he hasn't moved since the last time they saw him, the first time they had witnessed Markus breaking down. And throughout it all, North had no idea why he was as effected by this particular disappearance;  _Connor._ Yes, the two androids had became closer in a short matter of time, and had been friends a lot longer before, but as soon as he was whisked out of his life...A part of Markus went with him. To the unknown. To the  _void._ Almost as if the leader would've joined Connor in the darkened place _willingly_ , just to be close to him, to _be_ with him. To save him like he had done countless times this past week.

A rush of realisation filled her. 

"I see the way you look at him, Markus." North says quietly.

Markus glances over his shoulder to peer at her meekly.

"The way you used to look at me..." She inhales and exhales, trying to force all emotion out of her voice. 

The leader stays silent. 

"I know tensions have been high recently and it's clear you wanted to get away from it all, which I can't say I blame you for, but you should've came to me about this. If you really do feel something for Connor, you should've told me, I would've understo--"

Markus spins around to fully face her, letting out a spiteful and a laugh devoid of all humour, "You would've understood? You don't understand a  _single_ thing I say to you, it's always the same with you! You don't listen! If I would've told you, you would've hated me because...

"Because you went behind my back." North finishes, briefly placing her hand atop Markus', trying to remain patient, "You say that as if I don't want you to be happy. And if that's not with me, then I'm okay with that, because we are two completely different people, Markus. You want peace and sometimes...I want revenge, and I can't change who I am, I'm sorry for that. But I am not going to let you sit here, moping, when Connor is out there and needs our help, you know he does. He needs you, Markus, and sitting here won't get him back."

The leader stares down at his feet, feeling very guilty for the way he had just spoken to North when she is making the most sense in their current situation, "I'm sorry, North, I..." He trails off, not sure what to say. 

His now ex-lover squeezes his hand, "Falling in love is nothing to be sorry about. When we were fighting for our freedom, we needed closure from each other, our relationship wasn't going to be permanent. But rA9 help me, Markus, if you don't get your ass up right now and go get your man--"

The android messiah breathes out a small laugh, "He isn't my man, North...Do you really think I'd do that to you?" 

North frowns and opens her mouth to reply but smartly closes it when their door bursts open to reveal Josh and Simon, who barge into the room like they own the damn joint. The female raises a brow in suspicion as Simon is noticeably flustered and Josh looks as if he has a million things to say, yet only a small sentence leaves his lips.

"Um...We've got a problem." 

Markus tries to will the disappointment and irritation out of his tone, "What now?" 

Simon shuffles from foot to foot, rubbing his hands together anxiously like he's hiding something. The tallest android peers at the blonde from the corner of his eye, silently telling him to talk about the elephant in the room. 

"It's Hank." He states, his tone wavering as he thinks of how to follow the statement up. 

The leader raises a brow, "Yeah, what about him--" Suddenly, it dawns on him  _why_ Hank was actually here. " _Oh no..._ " He mumbles as he drags a hand down his face.

"Yeah." Josh agrees, "He's _beyond_ pissed at this point, he asked to come here to check on Connor as he hadn't shown up at the department for obvious reasons, so I gave him the location and I didn't have the heart to tell him he wasn't here so..." He trailed off, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So, the short version of that is, he wants to kill us?" North asks pointedly, placing her hand on her hip, "We should confront him about it, it's better he knows, he said he had a lead on the disappearances, he knows more than we do. Maybe he'll actually help us unlike Connor's creepy twin who said he would." 

Markus' expression falls and he inhales deeply, "It's obvious why he didn't help us." 

Josh tilts his head to the side, intrigued, waiting for their friend to elaborate. 

"Because he's the one who's been taking our people." 

Simon and Josh gasp in surprise whilst North crosses her arms over her chest and exclaims: "I knew it!" 

"I thought there was something weird going on when North and I found you, Markus. But...How do you know for definite? There's hardly any evidence of him doing such cruel things." The blonde android points out thoughtfully. 

Their leader sighs. He didn't want to share any of Connor's personal experiences with them, but they had to know and that was the only evidence Markus had to tell. The only downfall was he didn't know who the RK900 was working for, a machine got its orders from a  _human_ after all. He had been especially careful not to let any of that information slip during their confrontation. "I know because he's been... _hurting_ Connor after he supposedly found something at Kamski's place, where he initially met RK900. Whatever he found must've been important because it got to the point where he had to inflict serious damage to Connor to make sure he didn't tell anybody." He draws in a shaky inhale.

"He took Connor." Markus finished, rising from his seated position and starting towards the door. 

"We knew how dangerous he was, for him to show up from Cyberlife when we had just won our freedom. We shouldn't have left him without supervision!" North raises her voice. 

Markus turns to face them once more, determination now adorning his face instead of the melancholic expression he wore a couple of minutes ago, "It isn't about what we should've done and what we didn't do, it's about what we do  _now._ We'll talk to Hank and tell him everything we know and then..."

"Then?" Simon pries, glancing up at him. 

"Then we'll get our people back." North finishes confidently. An agreement is mumbled and the four leave the derelict room, locking the door behind them and making their way downstairs to the lobby where Lieutenant Anderson was impatiently waiting for them. Josh and Simon had yet to answer his questions about Connor and it had led to him threatening the two with violence if he didn't receive any answers soon. They then scrambled up stairs to alert the leader and had left the lieutenant to pace around the lobby, wearing his footprints into the already mangled carpet. 

The four timidly enter the lobby, freezing up when Anderson’s eyes bore holes into them and he storms over, yanks Markus forward by the front of his robe until they were eye-level. Any other time his friends would’ve intervened, but Hank had every right to be angry at this point. 

"Right then, I’m gonna give ya _five fuckin’ minutes_ for you to convince me _why_ I shouldn’t put a bullet in ya skull for gettin’ my boy captured." He threatens, the pistol in his pocket gleaming in the dimmed light of the room. The leader should’ve been afraid but he wasn’t in the slightest although he knew Hank would not hesitate to shoot him. He doesn’t feel any aspect of fear in fact, all he feels is _shame._ Shame for not keeping Connor safe, shame for not helping him sooner, shame for _losing_ him. 

At the lack of an answer, the lieutenant’s grip tightens and his idle hand briefly scoots down, reaching for the pistol in his pocket. Obviously he wasn’t going to shoot the man who had granted his partner freedom, but it was a good intimidation tactic to get him talking. 

"Hank--" Simon tries, a sharp glare over Markus’ shoulder is all he receives and he effectively keeps his mouth shut during the whole ordeal. 

"No," Markus sighs, shaking his head lightly, "He’s right. I’m so, _so_ sorry, Hank." He closes his eyes briefly, willing himself to continue, "Once I received Josh’s message for me to come here and to send Connor to the station to help you, we had to go separate ways, obviously. However, I noticed he was acting off from a previous incident moments prior, so I followed him to make sure he would get there safely, but I was became a bit disorientated and I eventually lost track of him."

Hank released his grip on the android messiah, allowing him to adjust his clothing and elaborate on the scenario, now having gained the lieutenant’s trust in the situation. 

"I kept looking around and when I eventually found him again, he was pinned on the floor by the RK900 and a knife was plunging into his chest. I intervened and managed to stop the attack but I was overpowered by the RK900 while Connor recovered, and he forced me into a temporary shutdown--"

Hank interrupts urgently, holding up a hand, "Wait, wait. A temporary shutdown? That’s what the deviant hunter does to androids, too--"

"Exactly," Markus continues, his eyes becoming serious as he lays out his theory, "Connor carried me away but I was forced into stasis while he tried to get me to safety I assume. All I remember is when I woke up back here, Connor wasn’t with me. This device the RK900 used...When it is used on an android, their LED turns a peculiar black, does it not?"

"We don’t know, most of our people removed their LEDs..." Simon points out.

"Except _Connor didn’t_. And we already know Connor and Hank had a supposed run in with the deviant hunter personally, and that resulted in him being, in human terms, _‘knocked out’,_ with a _black_ LED _._ Then he awoke and tried to...shoot himself." Markus shivers wistfully at the memory.

"Markus could be on to something here, all the evidence points to the RK900 at this point." Josh agrees. 

"Hank, you said you had a lead on something after questioning our people? Did you manage to find out anything from that?" North inquires, turning to the lieutenant who had a pensive frown on his face. He looks at her thoughtfully.

"From the ones who were stable enough to give me answers, they reported seeing someone in a grey cloak, which was spotted by the news already of course, but one of them managed to get close enough to spot an _LED--"_

"But that still doesn’t tell us _how_ he managed to slip away every time! Hell, he even managed to get in _while_ we were guarding the settlement!" The female exclaims, sneering in annoyance.

"If you’d shut ya fuckin’ mouth for a minute, I’ll get onto that bit," Ignoring North’s now exasperated look, he continued, "That blue-haired one, the girl from the Eden club," North tensed at the mention of her old workplace, Josh placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "She told me that her girlfriend, the brown haired Traci I believe, was approached by someone, quote on quote, _‘Mysterious looking’_ and was told by them that Markus wanted to speak to them." Hank crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged, "So assumedly, the bastard escorted her and she said she didn’t come back that day." 

"He pretended to be some sort of messenger to lure people away..." The blonde-haired android mumbled, shaking his head. "I can’t believe we didn’t...We should’ve known!"

Josh, forever the optimist, suddenly cuts in, "We couldn’t have known, he was sneaky after all, we had that place under lock and key, we guarded every angle of it and I can’t remember seeing someone in a cloak try to get past me..." 

Markus ponder for a moment, something instantly coming to his mind, "Although it’s evident we don’t need much more evidence, if he was spotted by the news station in that disguise, he wouldn’t be able to wear it all the time, he’d be caught--"

"That’s the thing," Hank interjects, their theory slowly but surely coming together slowly, "Some of the androids around here reported seeing different people, so to speak. With all the different appearances they described, not one of them wore a Cyberlife issued RK900 jacket." The lieutenant takes in a heavy breath, quickly feeling very guilty, "Fuckin’ hell, he’s been under our noses the entire time!" 

"Simon, Josh, North," Markus addresses all of them, "Do you remember letting any other androids into the hold whilst me and Connor were gone? When more of our people were taken?" 

"No..." North trails off, thinking intently, "No, I don’t think so."

"Androids can change their appearance easily anyway, they can save the appearance to their databanks and use it whenever they want. So from that knowledge, it doesn’t matter what he would’ve wore on each individual day, he wouldn’t be able to remove his LED, only _deviants_ do that." The tallest android explains.

"And if a deviant was behind this, they would’ve removed their LED to blend in easily, but the hunter is spotted with one..." Simon inputs. 

"Because _machines_ don’t remove their LED, they don’t see the need to, they don’t see themselves as _equal_ to humans." Markus finishes, feeling proud of them all for being able to piece this together, "And Connor turned the remainder of our people in the warehouses deviant. The only machine left is _RK900."_

"I doubt we need much more evidence than that," North comments with a smirk, "We can track this guy down now."

Hank rolls his eyes, trying to hide how impressed he was that the androids were able to figure out the culprit, "Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but you’ll need a _lot_ more evidence than simple patterns if you wanna get this guy locked up for good. Markus, the first day you called me and Connor over to investigate, Connor found something in the rooms, right? 

"Yes, yes he did. It was the writings that appeared on the wall, I wasn’t sure if it was a simulation created by his coding as it seemed bizarre, but it looked and felt  _real_. I recall one of the messages saying _‘Hello, Connor,’..."_ He wondered where Anderson was going with this. 

"Yeah, and who’s the fuck been obsessed with him since day one? Someone who’s _obsessed_ enough has the time to already _know_ his name. Who hurt my boy?" Hank questions, knowing all the questions have the same definitive answer. 

"RK900." Markus answers, his fists clenching by his sides at the memory of seeing the detective in so much pain and anguish, "But w-wait, how did you know what he did to him? Why did you know and not do anything about it?" 

Hank scoffed, "I may be old, but I’m a _lieutenant_  for a reason _._ Ha, I can read Connor like a _book_. When we got back to my house after you told that bastard he couldn’t look around Jericho, he asked to talk to Connor alone, I was against the idea at first, somethin’ about him didn’t rub me the right way. However, my son convinced me he needed to hear what he had to say. Comes back, and I _know_ he’s hiding something, but I know all about being forced to talk when you don’t wanna, so I didn’t force him, but I questioned him. I knew he was hurt, which is why I called you the next mornin’ for you to watch over him." He pauses to eye the leader warily.

"Then when I return, the SWAT is at my fuckin’ door and Sumo’s having a fit. Enough ‘bout those assholes anyway; you say that as if that wasn’t the only time that prick hurt Connor." Hank flares his nostrils in animosity.

Markus curls his lip downward, "It wasn’t, Connor interfaced with me and showed me everything the RK900 had done go him."

The grumpy detective’s eyes widen and he furrows his eyebrows, suddenly looking very intimidating, "Did you just admit to _interfucking_ with my son?"

Markus stammers as the thirium rushes to his cheeks, lighting them in a light hue at Hank’s bluntness, despite interfacing not being _anything_ like ‘fucking’. Yes, it was an intimate act, but the two needed that closure an—yeah, he could see where Hank was coming from now. 

Josh barely stifles a laugh, Simon buries his face in his hands at embarrassment for his friend and on any other day, North might’ve laughed. But after their very recent break up, she was reminded of how much it _hurt,_ she wanted Markus to be happy though. She loved when they interfaced, it made her feel safe, like nothing in the world could hurt her ever again, like the leader was _hers and hers only._ Switching on a brave face, she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, Markus’ happiness was all that mattered after everything he had done. 

The awkward silence that had settled over them made no effort to budge as Hank glared at Markus, looking him up and down and sizing him up, wondering if he was worth his son’s love and companionship. 

"You may be able to lead a whole android revolution, Robo-Jesus, but nothin’ will compare ya to keeping up with Connor." The lieutenant jokes, his bleak smile disappearing quickly at the thought of his partner. "First, you get him back for me, otherwise when I’m finished with ya, you _won’t_ be coming back." 

"I’m not sure if that’s a threat, motivation or an order." 

"All of ‘em." 

"Got it." 

" _Now_ \--" Hank begun once again, only to be interrupted by a knock at the lobby’s door. It was patient sounding, thus the human considered the possibility of not opening the door as they were in the middle of something very important. Markus, being the polite leader he was, crossed across the lobby and towards the door, unlocking it and swinging it open. 

His mismatched eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. 

_Connor._

Markus had to physically run a diagnostics test to check his optimal systems weren’t playing cruel tricks on him. After he received a positive report back, he let a smile cross his lips, partly bewildered and mostly jovial _._ Soon enough it spread into a massive grin and he ignored everything around him except for that beautiful RK800 model in front of him. 

He looked the same as the leader had last seen him; well, his posture was straightened and stiff, but maybe he was feeling on edge. His eyes were still the same warm colour but they held a sharper edge to them, well, maybe he was irritated with being taken. His features were... _hard_. There wasn’t the soft smile he would’ve shot at Markus any other time, there wasn’t the slight crease at the corner’s of his eyes from that smile, there was a crease in his brows instead, drawn together in a way that made him appear more serious than usual. His once wonderful features had been...changed. They were more _focused._

_No. This is his Connor. He’s just--He’s just...Just!_

_Different._

Markus didn’t care. He flung forward and wrapped his arms around Connor’s waist, knocking him back a bit as he buried his face in the crook of his neck, his eyes watering with pure bliss. He had trapped his detective in a bear hug, but not tight enough so he couldn’t pour his own heart and soul into the embrace as well. There was just one problem.

Connor didn’t hug him back. 

He stood unmoving in his arms, like a block of stone. No matter how hard Markus squeezed the life out of him, he showed no sorts of reaction. His brown irises darted down coldly, taking in the sight of the android clinging to him like a baby, though he wasn’t sure why. He couldn’t even recall knowing this android. 

"Don’t you _ever_  do that again, Connor...Oh my rA9, I was so _worried--_ I didn’t know if you were _dead_ or _lost, I just..._ I’m so glad you’re back...W-what happen--" Markus finally pulled away and stared deep into those _empty_ eyes, his happy and relieved expression dropping completely. "Connor...?" 

A gun cocked behind him, "Markus, back away." Hank warned, his eyes narrowed as he had his sights aimed on the thing just behind the detective. 

The android messiah instantaneously opened his sensors to around him, audibly gasping in horror when he noticed the RK900 behind Connor. A part of Markus felt indignation surge through his hard-wired circuits, twitching in his biocomponents. All he wanted was to throw himself at the android and demand where their people were. He wouldn’t try to use his ability in the slightest, from what he had seen him do, he was a _machine._ He was incapable of becoming a _deviant._

Markus wouldn’t even _try_ to give him free will. 

After everything he did, would he even deserve it?

The other part of him, the rational conscience, told him to back away to avoid any further injuries. He now knew what this RK900 was capable of and he didn’t feel safe with him or Connor being close to him. Yanking the mindless detective forward, he clutched him in his grasp to try and put distance between them. 

However, the RK800 didn’t move willingly. 

He dug his heels into the ground to prevent Markus from moving him anywhere and Conrad’s hands grasped his shoulders rightly, planting him firmly in place just in front of him. The leader frowned in warning and was about to try again when it was Connor who held up his own hand this time. 

"Please, do not fret. I turned Conrad here deviant, he is here to help us." Even though it was Connor speaking, it didn’t _sound_ like him in the slightest. His tone was like ice, his words were piercing and his sentence was short-lived, not to mention how formal he sounded. It was like...he was a _machine._

"Connor, son, just come over here for a minute, yeah?" Anderson tried to keep his tone kind but the fury rising inside him at the mere sight of that plastic son of a bitch had the anger bleeding into his words. 

"I do not see the need to, sir." Connor answered. 

_Sir?_

Markus felt his world crumble around him.

Hank glanced at him, their thoughts the same as the leader tensed significantly from his stress levels rising dangerously. If his LED was still attached, it would be an unblinking red. 

Simon’s shoulders visibly sagged, his tone melancholic as he decided he would be the one to break the elephant in the room. "He reset him..." 

At the dreaded realisation, Conrad pushed Connor behind him, acting as a barrier between him and his previous friends. Lieutenant Anderson dared to step closer, his finger never leaving the trigger, Markus, Josh and North following up, all their gazes promised pain. In turn, the RK900 took a step back strategically, taking the detective with him. It wasn’t out of fear, he could take out all of them with his eyes closed, but he needed the space to do so if violence ensured. 

In all of his life, Markus had never been as incensed as he was now. His heterochromatic irises were hardened and narrowed to green and blue slits, his lip was curled upward in ire and there his brows were furrowed. He was going to pry Connor back, and if Conrad came for him again, he would have to go through the _leader_ this time. 

Striding forward, he shoved Conrad in the chest _hard,_ causing him to stumble back and into the open air, progressively getting further and further away from the apartment complex. Quietly, Connor moved out from behind his successor, looking at Markus who seemed to not have noticed him yet. 

The leader’s head jerked back as a _fist_ collided with it and caused thirium to drip from his nose. That made no sense, Conrad didn’t even _move his arm--_

His head whipped back around and he was stunned into complete silence when _Connor_ was the one standing in front of Conrad. 

 _Connor_ had _punched_ him. 

Then, just to rub salt into the wound, the RK800’s foot _also_ made contact with his face with such force it knocked him clean onto his back. 

North charged in, guns blazing, as she tackled Conrad to the floor who was currently descending towards Markus and punching him multiple times in the torso, hoping to rupture his thirium pump and momentarily weaken him. At the sight of his successor being attacked, the ex-deviant hunter leapt into action and ran at North, only to have someone else’s weight also knock him to the floor. 

Peering over his shoulder, he realised he was being held down by Josh and Simon, two _caretaker_ androids. He almost found it funny--wait, no, machines don’t feel amused--these two expected to keep down an RK800 model? Pathetic. He twisted his arm, which would’ve caused pain for deviants, and quickly detached it from Josh’s grip, using the same hand to punch him in the neck, flipping himself over and kicking Simon off of him. 

Meanwhile, Conrad had easily pried North off of him and now had her by the throat as he repeatedly smashed her back into the concrete below them, satisfied with the sickening _crunch_ that accompanied every time he slammed her down again, doing disgusting damage to her back protective plates. 

Hank fired one shot and the bullet wedged itself into the RK900’s hand, luckily skimming North’s face. He drew back mildly, looking over the thirium pouring from the hole, he didn’t seemed fazed by it at all. A loud ‘ _click!’_ caught Hank’s attention as he turned to see Connor had his gun aimed directly at Markus’ leg, hoping to injure him but not kill him. 

"Oh no you don’t, son," Hank grumbled as he came up behind the android and grabbed him by the forearms, tacking the gun from his palms and discarding it onto the ground away from them. Connor turned to face him firecely and as he lifted his leg to plant his foot on the human’s stomach and wind him, the leader had recovered behind him, wrapping both his legs around Connor’s only standing one and causing him to fall down to the floor. 

Markus placed his wrists above his head and clutched them desperately. He sat on his hips and rendered his legs useless as he tried to fight the android’s incessant struggling against him. Blinking away tears at seeing Connor reduced to _this_ , he yelled at him: "Connor! It’s me, it’s Markus! We aren’t here to hurt you!" 

For a second, Connor stopped completely and his eyes widened as they snapped up to meet Markus’, his lips twitching as he read the other’s face. The leader let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding, he had gotten through to him. 

M̷̺͖̊̃à̸͇͐r̷͖̽͐̊ǩ̸̢̥̾u̶̝͍̇s̴̪͛́͂?̴͈̪̃͘̕͜

Hank lets out a heavy sigh and pocketed his own gun. He was about to say something when Connor seemingly kicked back into action, he had been waiting for his opportunity to escape Markus’ grasp. He sharply turned his own wrist, forcibly churning Markus’ into a position which would damage his hands and then grabbed the leader’s neck and pushed him off him, slamming his head into the ground. The lieutenant ran forward again and dragged Connor’s shoulders backwards, moving him away from the prone leader.

Conrad wasn’t experiencing any trouble even though he was taking on _three_ androids at once. Simon punched his chest, clearly aiming for his thirium pump but not being accurate enough, and it had no effect on him, his chest plate had been reinforced by Kamski himself to make him the strongest android made as of late. He clenched the blonde’s fist in his hand, and with one loud ‘ _click!’_  the hand went slack, indicating Conrad had snapped the prosthetic joints. The deviant hunter then tossed the caretaker aside, forcing him to land and not get back up. 

North was still crumpled on the ground, trying to recover from the torture her back had endured yet found even if she tried, she wouldn’t be able to get back up. Not right now anyway. It was similar to paralysis, she couldn’t feel the sensations of her legs, save for the electric shocks that danced up and down her limbs. 

It was just Josh and Conrad now. Despite being the same height and thus he had the better chance of fighting him, he wasn’t made for combat and that meant in his current predicament, his options were very limited. He was a care android which meant he could dash for Simon and get him up as North was too close to them and would result in a quick assault, but the RK900 would surely catch him before that happened. He could fight back, but who was he kidding, that was offering himself up on a silver platter. 

He darted for Simon. 

Conrad’s hand caught his elbow, he had already preconstructed the event and knew what Josh was going to do before he even decided it for himself. He then proceeded to snap the elbow backwards in a quick motion, breaking the joint in the arm. With him now weakened, the RK900 then picked him up and threw him down into the concrete, forcing the android to go into stasis on impact. He watched his predecessor not far away when he was finished with his brutality. Connor could handle those two, he was sure. He focused on grouping the three android bodies together. 

Hank and Markus were still standing. What could be worse than battling the two people that cared most about him? As the lieutenant was leaning on his back to drag him backwards, he bent and rolled the human over his back, forcing him to the gravel below. The leader was having conflicting emotions inside him; he had to defend himself before he got himself severely hurt, but he also didn’t want to hurt Connor in the meantime. Anderson clearly showed the same thoughts, all of his attacks were to get the detective off of the messiah, he hadn’t inflicted any damage either. But if they didn’t fight back harder, Connor would get them killed. 

Markus barrelled forward, grabbing the ex-deviant hunter by the waist and trying to lower him to the floor. He was stupid for thinking Connor wouldn’t defend against semi-peaceful attacks, he had already completed his preconstruction and thus he wriggled out of Markus’ grasp and now he was the one behind him, quickly throwing him to the floor. The leader recovered quickly as Hank seized his forearms and put him in a prime position to not be able to deflect an attack. 

The messiah had no other options, he balled his fist and was about to knock his knuckles into Connor’s face when he ducked suddenly, instead catching Hank Anderson square in the nose. Markus was about to apologise profusely when the detective kicked him and onto his back again, efficiently snagging his partner’s gun from his waist band as he let go to cup his probably broken nose. 

Before Markus could get up, Connor’s heel planted on his chest, keeping him down. He aimed the pistol directly at the android’s chest, ready to quote his orders when something inside him became _alive again._

_Model : RK200 _

_Name : Markus_

_~~Markus~~. _

_**Markus**._

In his peripheral vision, he could see the man he fought moments ago, clutching his nose whilst on his knees.

_Hank._

**_Hank Anderson._ **

_Oh my God, what have I done--Hank, Markus! No!_

Markus stared up at him, feeling some sort of spark inside him as he watched the confliction presented on the android’s face above him. He mustered his most calmed expression he could despite his pump thumping loudly in his chest. He had to convince the detective, with no audible words, that he was Markus. That he wasn’t a threat.  _Come on, Connor... **Remember!**_

_**"Markus!"** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like making excuses for not updating but I actually have one this time which isn't down to: forgetfulness/not enough time/busy/struggling to write a chapter etc. Past couple of days I've been hit with a surge of creativity and been very inspired to draw/write, which are the two things I love to do. 
> 
> And the one time I get this motivation, since I get writer/artist blocks all the time, I suddenly want to put myself down. :(
> 
> The portrait I want to finish isn't good enough. This chapter isn't descriptive enough. My drawing isn't good enough compared to everybody elses art because I feel I don't have an art style anymore, everything's just the same. My story isn't good enough compared to everyone elses. It's not good enough, it doesn't fit my standards and therefore it's not worth my time. 
> 
> I can't get these words out my head. After I get all my drawing equipment out, I put it away despite the fact I try to tell myself it's not finished, it can be better. I can't convince myself to BELIEVE in myself. I open up AO3 to write and close it down countless times and I've been trying to write this chapter for four days. I couldn't do it. I can't help but compare myself to everyone else and all I do is push my efforts farther down until I don't have any left. 
> 
> But I don't want to leave this story without updating at least once a week because I have people who look forward to reading my story (I hope at least, I don’t know anymore ahshskdis anxiety af). So I poured all my angst/feelings into this chapter as I haven't updated in around 6 days. Sorry if it isn't as good in any way shape or form, just not feeling so great right now. Enjoy your protective dad Hank and bamf evil Connor in this chapter anyway//
> 
> /minirantover I just wanted to say this tbh. 
> 
> so as an apology, have a long ass chapter. also have another cliffhanger. because im evil like that. Thanks for reading <3
> 
> i need a hug


	21. Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God fucking damnit this took way too long. 17 FUCKING DAYS? I NEED TO GET MY ASS IN GEAR. Anyway, i’ll explain in the end notes :P Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for being patient with me :)

Markus felt relief wash over him, felt a spark of hope coarse through his specialised circuits as his name sprouted from Connor’s lips, as the android towering above him lowered his gun and stared down at him with wide eyes, the regret and shame evident in his warm irises. This really wasn’t the time to be getting lost in each other’s eyes however, the threat still stood a while away from them and their friends were injured, some of them knocked out. 

The detective immediately removed himself from the android leader, backing away as his hand clutching the pistol shook tremendously, his fingers itching away from the trigger as his stress levels skyrocketed and he found himself gasping in air he didn’t need. Markus leapt to his feet now a barrel wasn’t accurately aimed at his forehead, ready to calm his panicking friend before he became self-destructive, fully aware of the RK900’s eyes following his every movement. 

"Connor, Connor! It’s okay, you’re okay, we’ll be—" 

The messiah was interrupted as he was tackled by such a force it knocked him clean on his back again, Conrad positioned on top of him as he threw punches in an effort to weaken the RK200 model. Markus glanced to his side where Connor was standing, seemingly in a trance, as he fought an inner battle; he wasn’t authorised on what to do in this situation. He remembered, yes, but...It seemed he was still being held back by something. 

"For fuck’s sake, Connor, do something! Don’t just stand there!" Hank yelled at him, still clutching his probably broken nose with a strong hand, trying to stop the blood from gushing out his nostrils like a waterfall. The RK800’s eyes flickered to his partner momentarily and he briefly considered the idea of helping him up but he was once again held back. 

_Conflicting orders..._

_**Help Markus.** _

_**Help Conrad.** _

_Selecting priority..._

Connor shook the notices from view; this was his life, this was his mind and his body, _he_ made the verdict, not some scrambled programming Kamski had created by resetting him. Although a few memories were missing as of right now, he knew the relevant information around him to be able to decide what to do in this situation; he knew Hank and Markus, the ithr members of Jericho locked in a stasis behind him, he knew who the threat was. 

Yet he still didn’t possess the power to physically _make_ the verdict, he had to break down this mental programming as well, almost as if he himself was becoming a deviant all over again, but without the red wall of orders to pry apart. This came all through his intellectually woven mind, his superior intelligence buried deep within his _own_ programming, not a set of orders some mad man had made for him. 

Meanwhile, Markus had scrambled to his feet and Hank had made his way over to cover, knowing a human was far too weak to interfere with the fight between two RK models. The leader landed a solid punch to Conrad’s stomach region, nearly causing the upgraded android to double over but he held his ground strong, dodging more attacks and aiming to put space between them. He managed to do so easily, backing away further from the messiah.

Then he drew his gun. 

Markus froze. Staring down the barrel of a pistol aimed at him by Conrad was a different story compared to when Connor had done it, he was adamant his friend wouldn’t hurt him, but the RK900 was a ruthless machine, incapable of empathy or kindness, immune to guilt and regret—he would do anything to accomplish his mission, to take them to the culprit of all this. The leader would not come willingly, perhaps shooting him was the answer here. 

Markus risked another glance to Connor, hoping to see his glazed over eyes filled with hope and determination like before, he wanted him to be back, for him to be himself again. Sadly, there was no change from before, he was still standing to the right of him, unmoving, like a block of ice which was impossible to melt. The ice that reflected in Conrad’s eyes. 

"Surrender and  I won’t shoot you, you will come with me willingly or I will drag you by force." The RK900 commanded, his finger never leaving the trigger as he aimed it at Markus’ abdomen with precision soldiers could only dream of. 

The leader did not raise his arms in a pacifying gesture, he clenched his fists by his sides as he replied with a determined and emotional voice. "I’d rather _die_ here."

A thick layer of silence settled over them, neither sure what the other would do next, the anticipation hung in the air like a cloud of smoke. The RK200 barely registered the silent _‘click!’_ of the safety being flicked off the gun before it was too late. 

"Then so be it." 

The gunshot ricocheted through the air, slicing all around as it aimed for its target: Markus’ chest. The leader closed his eyes as he awaited the impact, he would not die a coward. He could feel the bullet getting closer and—

He was suddenly pushed to the ground, landing on his side with a thud, the bullet missing him by miles. A moan of pain came from beside him, a voice that was too familiar, such a suffering sound that caused his heart to ache as reality settled in. Markus looked up wildly to meet the sight of the RK800 on his knees, clutching his stomach where the bullet had implemented itself. Connor’s head snapped up to meet his gaze, a grimace displayed on his lips as he shut his eyes tightly, applying more pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding before he shut down. 

"Connor!" Markus belowed, rushing to his side and pulling him into his arms, pressing his hands against the wound. He didn’t care if Conrad shot him next, all that mattered now was the detective who had saved his life _again._ rA9 help him if he wasn’t able to save Connor after all he had done for him, his pent up indignation would kill him instead of a bullet. He whispered sweet nothings into the ex-deviant hunter’s ear even though he didn’t know if he could hear him, he appeared to be slowing his systems down to preserve thirium. It was scary how precise Conrad was, Connor was made specially to be able to taken a beating, yet one bullet was enough to keep him down? The placement must’ve been coldly calculated. 

Although his attention was focused solely on the android in his embrace, he still couldn’t help but to await that inevitable bullet to rip through his metal ribcage and pierce his heart. He wanted to screw his eyes shut and die peacefully, but he wouldn’t die _happy_ if he couldn’t see Connor’s face one last time. 

The gun slipped from Conrad’s grasp and clattered to the ground. For once, his mechanical, emotionless façade cracked, his stone cold eyes widened a fraction out of shock and surprise, his eyebrows raised and his mouth was slightly agape, appalled at what he had just done. He shot _Connor._ He wasn’t aiming for _Connor._ His predecessor, the person who relied on him to be his saviour before, someone who wanted to help him...Conrad had let him down every single time.

And now he’d gone and shot him.  

He tried to take a step forward to help the RK800, to reassure the RK200, to find the lieutenant and mend his nose, to aid their friends, but found he couldn’t. A large red wall appeared in front of him, entwined by coding and an endless sea of black. On the wall was the simple command, his mission, ‘ _Capture them’._

_No...I can’t do that! I can’t! Connor will die if I don’t help him!_

Markus glanced up from his position on his haunches, looking up at the RK900 with a mixed expression, wondering why he had dropped the gun, then realisation settled in; he was becoming a deviant. He was showing doubts, showing _regret, guilt._ The same feelings Connor had experienced when he had been convinced by Markus to become a deviant, the only difference this time was it was _entirely_  Conrad’s decision. 

The machine balled his fist and pounded it into the command as hard as he could, beating and beating it as he watched particles of code fly off from the sides and into oblivion. He punched quicker, desperate to get the mission which mocked him out of his view, away from his mind, gone from his existence. 

_I am not a machine._

With one final hit, the wall collapsed away and he was back in his body, like an out of body experience that affected his real life. He looked down at his hands, stained with thirium from his previous assault on the androids tossed to the ground around him, still in stasis. 

He approached them, feeling different and feeling something tight in his chest as he looked down upon the two clutching androids, felt something climbing up his throat and threatening to choke him with the very air he breathed. _Guilt. Shame. Regret._

_I did this to them._

"I...I’m... _sorry_." He spoke slowly and sadly, kneeling down so he could get a better view of the severeness of Connor’s injury, he levelled Markus’ questionable gaze with his own. "I was...just following orders. I didn’t know...what I was doing, what was right and what was wrong. I can understand if you decide not to trust me, but at least let me help you. Then, if that is what you wish, I shall go. You will never have to hear from me again."

Markus let out a deep sigh, he had been sure he would never trust Conrad, nor even convince him to become a deviant, but what leader would he be to turn away one of his own? The RK900 did not mean to do what he did, he was being ordered around like some poodle, not allowed to question or disobey; the messiah couldn’t hold that against him, it wouldn’t be fair. He saw the new deviant in a whole different light now and despite the scene before him, he let a gentle smile grace his lips. 

"You were a machine, you weren’t yourself, I cannot use that against you. Your place is with your people," The leader spoke, rising to his feet and hefting Connor in his arms, who had gone into standby to try and self repair during their discussion,  "But...You need to help us get those people back." He finished sternly. 

Conrad agreed quickly, "Yes, of course. Again, I sincerely apologise for what I have done, I will do everything in my power to make sure they are saved...before Elijah begins his next plan." 

Markus stopped instantaneously, "...What do you mean, ‘ _next plan’?"_

The RK900 let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, "I will inform you in a few moments, my calculations have estimated a thirty-six percent chance of your friends being further damaged if they do not receive urgent care. I shall retrieve Hank Anderson and the others." Markus nodded, beginning to carry Connor inside the apartment complex. He was instantly bombarded by questions from the remainder of his people, wanting to know what had happened and if everybody was okay. Knowing some people would feel intimidated by Conrad, he ordered them to stay in their rooms for now, reassuring them everything would be okay soon. 

He opened the door to a room they established as a med bay with three beds in it, laying the damaged detective down on top one of them and sitting next to him, pressing two deactivated fingertips to his LED and running a diagnostic. Biocomponent #1729 was damaged, located just diagonal of his thirium regulator, with a bullet wedged in it. He made his way over to the shelves and pulled a repair kit from it, unzipping it and taking out a pair of tweezers. As gently as he could, he squeezed the bullet between the talons and pulled it from his torso, causing Connor’s hand to jolt and cover his own instinctively. 

His eyes fluttered open and they locked eyes, brown colliding with blue and green. A small, shy smile covered his lips before it was gone again and as he made an effort to remove his hand, Markus placed the tweezers down and covered Connor’s hand with his other one, clasping tightly, pouring his desperation into the gesture. 

"I don’t know how to thank you, Connor." The messiah shook his head, looking slightly ashamed as he refused to make eye contact.

"You don’t have to thank me, Markus," The detective breathed, "I’m just glad I didn’t lose you..." He spoke rather abashedly, blue tinging his cheeks. 

"I’m glad you didn’t forget me." The leader replied, the smile displayed on his lips reaching up to his idiosyncratic eyes. Connor frowned suddenly, his gaze hitting the window. 

"So many of them have already forgotten who they are. The only reason I was able to remember was because my memory is always uploaded to the cloud, I’m always surrounded by my previous or forgotten memories," The ex-deviant hunter explained, "They—They don’t have that, they’ve lost who they are...I can’t help but feel..."

"Guilty," Markus responded, removing his hand to brush it lightly against the other android’s cheek in a comforting gesture, "Don’t worry, we will get them back, I promise, Connor." He removed his hand when the RK800 nodded, "You should get some rest, hopefully you should be able to self-repair the wound." 

The leader began manoeuvring himself to a sit up position when the detective’s hand caught his wrist, "I feel better when you’re here. I know it’s irrational and shouldn’t make a difference but—"

"It doesn’t have to be rational," He interrupted, "Feelings aren’t rational. Of course I’ll stay, Conrad should be bringing the others soon." 

Connor would’ve bolted upright at that very statement out of shock if Markus hadn’t now been laying beside him with his hand resting on his upper arm, instead, his surprise was evident on his face, "C-Conrad...? W-what—"

"He turned deviant," Markus revealed softly, "After you pushed me out the way, he seemed shaken up by hurting you, he had the opportunity to shoot me, Connor. And he didn’t. He wanted to help, he _changed."_

The detective felt relief wash over him like a warm blanket, nestling into Markus’ arms and burying his face in the crook of his neck, too tired to care about how close they were—not that he minded, of course—"I’m glad...He wanted to help me when Kamski was trying to reset me...I knew he wanted to, I could see it. Something stopped him before, I’m happy he’s free now, maybe he can help us." 

The messiah tightened his grip at the mention of Kamski, that sick bastard obviously had something to do with it. "You and him are the only people who know where our people are being kept, we will rescue them soon." He paused as he let out a sad sigh, "I’m sorry that happened to you, Connor, I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like." 

The detective finally let his eyes slip closed, his LED becoming a slow, blinking red as he found warmth in the solace of the leader’s strong arms, cocooning him and protecting him from the horrors of the world around them. Sleep came quickly, a smile content on his lips the entire time. 

A couple of minutes later, Conrad entered the room, the three knocked out androids slung over his shoulder not so gracefully, but trying to transport them as quickly as possible. He laid North and Simon down on the remaining two beds, keeping Josh over his shoulder as he peered at Connor and Markus, comfortably pressed together on the other bed. 

"I called a taxi for lieutenant Anderson, he has gone to the hospital to assess the damage of his nose. For these, I am afraid I will have to wait until they wake up to repair them, though I fear I may have damaged them beyond repair..." The newly changed deviant mumbled morosely, glancing at North and Simon in despair. 

Markus gave a shake of his head, idly brushing his lips against the soft hair belonging to the android in his arms, "They will be fine, they’ve taken more of a beating than this."

Conrad nodded silently, "Would you like me to brief you on Elijah’s intentions?" 

The messiah knew he should’ve agreed, should’ve said yes and found out all the relevant precautions and information, yet he declined, because all that mattered to him right now was still Connor. He wanted to cherish this time with him, he could find out the cause of all their problems tomorrow. Conrad left them alone after that, exiting the room and finding another to cater for Josh. 

So he let his eyes close and entered a standby phase, his thoughts blinded by the android he had came to care for more than he ever thought he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first off i got grounded LOL 
> 
> for stupid shit i am not talking about because of privacy reasons :P
> 
> also education has came to bite me on the arse again. so its finding a balance between work and writing, so i’ll aim for once a week to start, when i get a break i’ll write more yadda yadda. 
> 
> also my pc um...had a slow and painful death. i’m stuck with writing on my ipad now while i save for a new one lmao
> 
> sorry this is kinda short but its still relevant, however after this, it’s gonna get REALLY plotheavy because i’m revealing the juicy parts next oooo, also i’m planning to start wrapping this up soon...maybe in around 5 chapters? maybe more if i need them idk.
> 
> sorry for the wait <3 irregular updates coming soon ;))
> 
> love me some markus and connor cuddles and comrad conrad


	22. Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: TF WE HAVE 10000 HITS?? 500 KUDOS? IS THIS REAL LIFE?

When Connor awoke the next morning, it was to the incredulous sense of someone...watching him, hovering over him, wanting to simply make their presence known, but not wanting to physically awaken the android. Being designed to tackle deviants, Connor was always ready for anything, always calculating and always making sure no threat was nearby—thus the shadow looming over his bed was bound to spring him into consciousness. 

Upon further inspection, it was deemed a threat was not present whatsoever, well, a person who  _wasn’t_ a threat anymore, per se. The RK900 unit was standing idly next to him and Markus, peering down at them with a distant glint in his eye which showed him deep in thought about something. Something the detective wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Alright, maybe he was a bit on edge about the entire thing, Conrad had only deviated yesterday, and if he followed the same protocal as Connor did, Amanda was still in his head. 

Guiding him.

Manipulating him. 

Tormenting him. 

There was no possible way Connor could know if Conrad had used the emergency exit like he had to truly escape, if so, Amanda had the power to revert him back to a machine, all his struggles and hardships would have been for nothing. The RK800 didn’t want that, he wanted the best for Conrad, he wanted him to have an even chance at a free life with free will. Being tied down to a mission you have no say in is not living your life to the fullest. 

He clenched his fists at the thought, tightening them into knots in the back of Markus’ shirt as he was still clinging to the messiah. Whenever Cyberlife weaved its way into his mind, his emotions ran haywire, anger overflowed his systems. Cyberlife made them as slaves to obey human’s every command, to not question orders or possess a thought process of their own. They were designed to be machines, inanimate metal parts constructed together to create the illusion of a being among them. 

The irony could make him laugh at this point. They had more humanity than humans ever did. 

Connor tilted his head to peer over his shoulder, glancing up at the cerulean eyes belonging to Conrad. Silence still hung in the air passively, the detective waiting for his successor to speak what was on his mind, the RK900 wallowing in the lack of sound. A couple more beats passed and Connor decided he would speak up first. 

"Is something the matter, Conrad?" He whispered quietly, not wanting to rouse any of the other androids around him out of stasis. From the beating they took yesterday, they could use the equivalent of human sleeping, Conrad was anything but easy on them. A hard wired machine never took feelings into account. That was the Conrad before though, he was a changed man now, a person that could become a friend and an ally to them. 

"My intention was not to awaken you, I apologise," He started, his stoic facade looking sheepish for once, "But since you're awake, I...I want to speak with you, Connor." The RK900 finished, his tone trailing off at the end as if he was ashamed of his own words. Connor found himself hooked by the switch in his normally monotone, deep voice; it was like Conrad had became an entirely different person--which he, in fact, had. It showed through his word choice too,  _'want'_. 

"O-Oh, of course." The ex-deviant hunter replied, offering him a small, gentle smile as he manoeuvred in Markus' comforting grip til he could swing his legs over the bed and get to his feet. He was about to take his first step when a shock shot up his circuits, originating from his abdomen and making its way around his body like a strike of lightning. His hand went to the bullet wound he had received yesterday, rubbing his fingertips over the now dented plate, swiping the small error warning from his vision. Conrad started towards him with his eyes glued to the wound but he held up a hand, silently telling him he would be okay. He just needed a second to re-calibrate, it was a shame he didn't have his coin on him.

After he had regained his usual composure, he gestured for Conrad to lead the way to the place he wished to discuss with Connor. As the RK900 walked, the RK800 couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to his predecessor's pockets, seeing a strange bulge poking out of them. His mind whirled with contrasting thoughts; it could be the same device used to force androids into a momentary shutdown, it could be something he used to calibrate his systems, like Connor had his coin, or it could be anything else, something that wasn't a danger whatsoever. 

He felt a steady rise in his stress levels, but he tried to reassure himself and lower it frantically. He settled on following the retreating body in front of him to whatever destination they would end up at. Judging by the direction the RK900 was taking, they were heading for the staircase leading to the roof. The detective risked a glance outside one of the corridor windows, seeing it was slightly dark, the sun hadn't rose yet. He checked his internal clock and was informed it was only 5:12am, no wonder the sky looked the way it did; a rich blend of dark blue with a natural opalescent yellow, a hue of the cracks of golden sunlight resting above it.

Conrad swung the staircase door open, holding it to the side to let Connor pass through. Once done so, he continued leading the RK800 to the roof, up the entwining, concrete staircase and to the natural light of the early morning. They reached the top of the stairs and opened the roof door, suddenly they were exposed to the cool, autumn air of Detroit, the comforting breeze which weaved through their dark brown locks and seeped through the gaps of their fingers, alienating their body from any extra warmth contained within. It may have been slightly on the cool side, but it was welcoming to the two androids. It reminded them there could still be beauty in such a disgusting world.

Connor let out a small gasp as he wandered upon the rooftop at the sheer sight he had the courtesy of witnessing. He neared the edge as he looked out upon the mixture of light blue, hazy orange and soft red, all blended together in the sky like an artist themselves had painted it, swerving their colours together as they neared the start of the sunset, the darker colours fading over the hills. The detective had never had the luxury of experiencing a raw sunset, the bliss of seeing beautiful colours in perfect harmony, and the person he thought was his sworn enemy was the one to bring him to such beauty. 

The RK900 had stayed quiet throughout the entire experience.

The sound of clad dress shoes getting closer to him finally reminded Connor that he wasn't alone, and he turned his head a fraction to peek at the taller android who now stood to the side and slightly behind him. "Why did you bring me up here?" He asked out of curiosity. 

Conrad took a step forward, now standing perfectly in line with his predecessor as he didn't reply straight away. He tilted his head up just a tad to glare up at the sky intently, feeling the breeze hit his face, leaving Connor's question hanging in the air. 

"As I said before, I wanted to talk to you." The RK900's reply was short, leaving the detective longing to know more about his intentions. 

"Well, I'm all ears, what do you want to talk about, Conrad?" Connor addressed him directly, hoping that would prompt him to elaborate on this 'talk' he wanted to have with his predecessor. 

Conrad tried to stifle a saddening sigh but failed miserably, turning his head away from the ex-deviant hunter so he couldn't read his face, "I brought you up here because..." He slowly turned to face Connor again, "I want to make sure you are alright. I did things to you that are unforgivable, I cannot fathom the  _anger_ I feel for what I let myself do to you, the damage  _I_ inflicted." 

The RK900 paused. Connor reached out to touch Conrad's arm and transfer some of his comfort, only to have him flinch away from his touch, turning and stomping away from the detective to put some distance between them. 

"I don't deserve your pity, your forgiveness. I don't deserve your comfort and your reassurance, Connor. I damaged you, I sliced you until your thirium levels lowered beneath fifty percent, I scarred your hands and your arms in a futile attempt to make you see that you were a..." He trailed off, unwilling to say the dreaded word. 

"A machine..." Connor finished, coming up behind Conrad and reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder, "Conrad, what you did, was not  _you._ You weren't who you are today, Kamski created you as a tool to do his dirty work, you had no say in what you did, I will never hold that against you. We can't change the past, Conrad, but we can determine what we do in the future." 

His upgraded doppelganger whipped around to face him again, gazing into his coffee coloured orbs again; his irises held so much care and friendliness towards the man who had tried to kill him before, the man who had kidnapped him and nearly given him a fate worse than death. It was confusing. How could Connor not hold anything against him? Conrad deserved to be hated for what he had done, banished from android society, thrown out like an outcast that simply wasn't meant to be. 

"Your future would be much better without me in it. If it wasn't for Markus and your friends, you wouldn't have remembered, you would still be a machine right now, Connor. How can you just...forgive me, so easily?" Conrad replied with a melancholic tone, his stress levels rising ever so slightly. 

Connor shook his head, taking a step closer to the mentally inept RK900, "We are more alike than you think, Conrad..." He started, glancing down at the floor, choosing his words carefully.

"Yes, I suppose we are. We look the same and we are similar models--" 

"I mean... _emotionally, mentally._ " Connor continued, his fingers itching for his coin to fiddle with. 

Conrad stayed silent for a moment, pondering upon his predecessor's words, "I'm afraid I do not follow." 

The detective peered back up to meet his eyes, "I was just like you...I have done things to deviants,  _our people,_ that I'm not proud of, and if I could go back in time, I would change the things I did." 

The taller android quirked a brow, his head tilting to the side like a puppy as he asked, with a startling innocence, "What did you do? I am aware you were a deviant hunter like I was, but I doubt what you did could be worse than what I have done." 

"I chased a mother and her little girl across a highway, an AX400 and a YK500, Kara and Alice, two deviants that just wanted to be free. I almost killed them, Conrad, I almost  _destroyed_ their family. I was sent to a hostage situation, a PL600 was threatening to jump off the roof with a little girl, Emma. I managed to save her, but not without casualties. I had to lie to the deviant, Daniel, to get him to free her, and in return, he was shot. I told him he would be okay...I  _promised_ him he wouldn't be hurt!" 

"Con--" 

"I aimed a gun at Markus' head and lead the humans to Jericho, how many people died that night? Too many to count." Connor gave a humourless laugh at the irony of it all, "And the worst part is, I'm still alive. I'm not dead with them, like I should be. It's a life for a life, isn't it? That's how it should be. But it isn't." The RK800's demeanour had switched completely, once he was spewing his real thoughts and feelings, he felt like he couldn't stop. At first, he wanted to tell his story to let Conrad know he wasn't alone, but now he was venting his frustrations at the new deviant who probably didn't even have a grasp of his own emotions yet!

Conrad could calculate the steady rising in Connor's stress levels, and as the ex-deviant hunter opened his mouth to rant again, the RK900 gripped his shoulder tightly. 

"An eye for an eye and the world goes blind." Is all he said, watching those chocolate eyes dart to meet his in surprise to the truthfulness in Conrad's words. The detective took a deep breath he didn't need, puffing out his cheeks as he tried to compose himself once again. 

"And even afterwards, Markus had the audacity to...to  _forgive_ me, had the audacity to call me his _friend,_ to treat me as one of them, as if I mattered to him..." Connor suddenly remembered why he had told his story in the first place, "If I can be forgiven for the things I've done, you can too. What we did when we were machines makes up a big part of our lives, yes, but it doesn't define us. We are our own people now. We can help do the  _right_ thing." 

"I am just afraid the others will not trust me, especially after I damaged them. I still need to repair them when they awaken." 

"Then that's where we'll start, you can help out bit by bit, fixing them will show them you don't mean any harm. We've all done things we're ashamed of, Conrad, they'll forgive you, I'm sure. Markus already does." Connor flashed him a smile. 

"Thank you, Connor." 

They stood in silence a moment longer and the RK800's eyes looked Conrad up and down, hesitance practically radiating off of him, and after a small pause, he slowly moved closer and wrapped his arms around Conrad, pressing his face against his shoulder. The RK900 remained stiff in his arms, clearly not used to such close contact. 

"Connor, what are you doing?" He asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. He wasn't sure if Connor was trying to apprehend him or something, or trying to sniff something out in his shoulder. It seemed a little bizarre, but he didn't want to search his database for...whatever this was, all it knew was that it was nice to be feel cared about, the warmth blossoming in his chest from their embrace reminded him he now had his first companion. 

Connor chuckled quietly, "Well, you looked like you needed a hug, so..." 

Conrad was still wholly during the whole thing, "A hug?" 

"Yes, it's a gesture that humans find comforting, it's something people do when they are happy to see someone, or to cheer someone up, or to simply greet friends and family after a long time away. I like hugs myself, Hank doesn't give me them often, but they always make me feel happier. I thought it could work for you too." The RK900 made no movements.

Then he slowly wrapped his own arms around the smaller android. 

He felt...worse, but better at the same time. He didn't feel any sort of happiness because he felt  _vulnerable,_ like his emotions could be expressed freely around Connor, like he didn't have to put on a front of smile or pretend to be happy, he could show him how he truly felt. A rare bond of trust he had found in the older android. He could feel his new negative thoughts bounding at the front of his mind, demanding to be addressed, their hurtful and discouraging words stabbing into his heart. One thought stuck out in particular, a thought he couldn't  _possibly_ forget. 

Amanda. 

Thankfully, she hadn't came to bother him since he deviated, but if there was anything that AI was, it was resilient and cunning. She would not be banished so easily, she would be back, Conrad was adamant of that. And when she did, he knew the results would be catastrophic, not to mention it would set him further back in his new found deviancy. The RK900 frowned, she was like a parasite you couldn't get rid of, an infection that spread to the mind and controlled one like a puppet on a string. The AI of his nightmares. 

Languidly, Connor pulled away from their embrace and took a step back to survey his surroundings, the sun was gradually rising from the hills and the sky was a lighter, pale yellow compared to the colours before. He checked his internal clock, surprised to find it was now 6:47am, time had flown by while he was spending time with Conrad. It was by no means a waste of time though. Facing the taller android once more, he studied the frown on his face and raised a brow.

"Something on your mind?" The detective inquired.

_"Amanda..."_

Connor felt rage boil in his circuits and he clenched his fists by his sides as fury threatened to leak from every fibre of his body. Of course, most of the terrible actions Conrad committed had to be down to a sentient, vindictive AI which hated Connor for escaping her before, for rising with the revolution instead of stopping it like she ordered. Maybe she was just controlled by Cyberlife, but the ex-deviant hunter was sure no normal AI would have such malicious intentions like she did. 

"Conrad, listen to me." Said android's attention focused on the older android in an instant, his urgent tone making every circuit in his body stand on high alert, "Amanda will attempt to control you again, she did it to me, too..." Connor shook the bad memories from his head, he had to inform his successor about the emergency exit, "There is a blue monument in the garden, under an arch, you need to get there before she gains control. Be as quick as you can, she'll control your physical body, it's like you're locked in your mind and there's no way out until you use the totem. She nearly made me shoot Markus on the stage, the only reason I escaped was because Kamski informed me of the ex--" 

"Connor," Conrad quickly interjected, putting two and two together, "Kamski  _made_ me." 

The RK800's eyes widened in slow realisation, "B-but that means--"

"There might not be an emergency exit." He finished, his face glacial. 

"There has to be, we can--" Connor was suddenly interrupted as Markus' voice drifted through his head desperately. 

_"Connor! Connor, where are you, are you okay--"_

_"No, no, I'm fine, Markus. I'm just talking to Conrad, we were--"_

_"Okay, you should come back, North and Simon are awake and they need repairs. We also need to discuss what Kamski's planning, Conrad said he knew, didn't he?"_

_"Alright, we'll be back in a minute."_ He abruptly ended the telepathic communication, turning to Conrad to tell him what Markus had told him, only to find he wasn't present on the roof. He was already half way down the stairs. Realising he had quite frankly been ditched, he scrambled after the RK900, eager to catch up with him before he reached Markus. 

Sprinting through the apartment corridor, he spotted Conrad's fleeting form rounding a corner, picking up his pace to catch up. Once he was next to his predecessor again, he elbowed him in the side, receiving a cold glare though the hit didn't deter the android in the slightest. 

"You didn't have to sneak off without me! I was just talking to Markus, he said--"

"I have access to your telepathic communications, if you failed to remember. Plus, you need to know everything about Kamski and what he's planning."

"So it's true little brothers are always nosy..." Connor spoke, his tone teasing as he gave a side glance to the RK900.

"Little brother?" Conrad repeated, quirking an eyebrow as his face showed the tiniest bit of cheer at the nickname. 

"Well, you pretty much are just a taller, more intimidating version of me. But you're younger." 

"You may want to change 'little' to 'younger' then." Conrad joked with an entertained tone. Beside him, Connor looked confused, not yet catching on to the implication of the RK900's words. 

"What are you saying?" 

"I'm saying you're short, Connor." 

The newly changed deviant burst into the apartment the other androids occupied before he could pay any mind to Connor's comeback. He tried to reinforce his aloof and professional demeanour again, but it was hard to wipe the slightly amused look from his face as he spotted the RK800 silently fuming in the corner of the room. When he caught his little--sorry,  _younger--_ brother catching him pouting, he averted his gaze onto the injured androids and gestured for Conrad to begin working on them. 

"Hey, it's good to see you guys are okay," Simon greeted them with a smile, despite how bad he looked. North scoffed at his words, turning away from them and lying on her side, staring out the window. Connor gave him a smile back. 

"Where were you two?" Markus questioned, wondering why he hadn't awoken to the detective in his arms again. It was a shame really, it was one of the best sleeps he'd had in a long time. 

"We were just talking," Conrad stated precipitously, gathering some spare plates from the duffel bag they had full of supplies. He examined and analysed them, deeming them the perfect size for a WR400 model before he approached the woman who had remained silent since the two had entered the room. North held up a hand that rapidly balled into a fist at how close the RK900 was to her. 

"Don't even fucking try it, I don't need your help." She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest as she flopped onto her back with a grimace, landing just a little too hard on her damaged back plate. Her scowl deepened. 

"North, he wants to help you. Please, just give him a chance." Connor pleaded, trying to reassure the woman Conrad would be no threat to her anymore. 

With a loud sigh, she turned herself over, unwilling to chance herself with this battle, "How can I say no to Mr. puppy dog eyes over there...One wrong move and I will beat your ass,  _Conrad._ " 

"I can't say I expected any less." The RK900 replied absentmindedly, beginning to remove the old back plate. 

Whilst Conrad now got to work on repairing North, and would do the same to Simon afterwards, Connor moved over to stand next to Markus, letting a soft silence settle over them for a moment. It would've been comforting, but the android leader couldn't help but notice how the RK800's eyes were darting up and down his body, eventually stopping on the very top of his head. He opened his mouth to question what was wrong, when the detective beat him to it.

"Markus, am I short?" 

Conrad couldn't contain his laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Once again, I'm sorry for the wait but writing on my iPad is simply a lot more difficult and tedious, especially since it crashes a lot when I'm trying to switch tabs from AO3 to Youtube, etc. 
> 
> BUT, you won't have to wait any more.
> 
> Because I got a new pc! Which means writing will be a lot easier and a lot better, with a lot less typos lol. Updates will now be back to the normal, instead of the 15+ days I've been making you guys wait lmao. I'm sorry about that :P 
> 
> After all the angst I've been dumping on you guys, you deserve some brotherly fluff :,) Hope you enjoyed and thanks for being patient as usual! <3 next chapter tho...STRAIGHT BACK TO THE FIGHT BOYS AND GIRLS. 
> 
> edit: lmao i might be the luckiest person alive, I just SAVED this as my pc died cause i forgot to charge it! if it wouldn't have saved i would've died on the spot
> 
> Edit 2: BO4 is out and I am fucking destroying zombies and having a blast with it but botd ee has broken my heart and like i’m tryna recover so update on sunday lol??


	23. So...Update.

Well, it truly has been a while, hasn’t it? 

I don’t think mere words can express how sorry and how guilty I feel about this story at this point. I literally ditched it and left it in the dirt _months_ ago, and I was selfish enough not to even fathom the idea of offering an explanation as to _why_ I did it. I stopped updating abruptly, and I left all of my readers in the dark, so, I’m back to explain myself and discuss the future of this story. 

But first off, let me just say, I am so fucking sorry. I really am, from the bottom of my heart. 

Once Black Ops 4 came out in October, me, being the hardcore, diehard zombies gamer/fanatic I am, completely fell in love with it and I _religiously_ played that game day in day out, for hours, and had so much fun with it. I’ve been a fan of the Black Ops series since the first one in 2009, and playing zombies again and seeing all my favourite characters made me become more invested in them rather than Detroit: Become Human. To put it simply, I went back to one of my OG favourite fandoms. 

Thus, this story promptly started to die and get left behind. My AO3 account became incredibly inactive as a whole.

And suddenly, on 31st March 2019, I log back in, and I go back to this story. I read it all. And you know what? I didn’t do half bad with this story; reading all the end-notes and realising how upset I was at some chapters made me realise how much I have matured as a person, and reading the chapters themselves, makes me realise how much I have improved. 

However, on top of all that, reading all the lovely, beautiful comments I received was my favourite part, even though it hurt to read my lack of care present in my replies when I told people I wouldn’t finish it. I feel so privleged and happy to have such wonderful readers enjoying my story, and I feel like such a piece of shit for not informing any of you and simply taking advantage of that, just to then stop writing altogether. I was one-hundred-fucking-percent out of order. And once again, I’m so sorry. 

An epiphany hit me; who am I to just...take away something people enjoy? Something people wanted to see through to the end? Something they looked forward to seeing new chapters for? 

What’s the point in gathering an amazing audience just to basically laugh in their face when you don’t finish a story?

If I had a personal reason as to why I left, I wouldn’t be beating myself up, I wouldn’t be being this hard on myself, I probably wouldn’t even be writing this update right now. But it’s not right for me to do this, not in my eyes. Rereading this story has restored that Detroit: Become Human spark in me to be honest. 

I want to finish this story, I am _going_ to finish this story no matter what. 

Because even if one person comes back and sees it through to the end, but they _enjoy it and I can make them happy_ , then _that_ is worth it. If nobody comes back to read it, it’s still worth it, because if someone finds it further along down the line, they _can_ enjoyit! It is a complete story they can read! I write for my own personal enjoyment but I publish to captivate and make others happy and try and uplift them with shitty humour after a bad day.

I am sorry. 

_So sorry._

But hopefully, me finishing this story will act as enough of an apology for my readers. I will not rush it just to get it finished, each chapter will have my heart and soul poured into it, and it will have the same effort in it as all my other ones. 

Thank you for reading and being patient with me, I love you and here’s to the end of this story. <3

_Next chapter will be out on 6th April._


	24. The Plan

"So, are you going to tell me about Kamski's plan for Detroit?" Markus' voice broke through the silence on an early Thursday morning, causing the RK900 android opposite him to glance up in an almost sheepish way, mentally kicking himself for forgetting about the most important thing he had to inform him of. Currently, it was just the both of them in one of the unoccupied rooms of the abandoned apartment complex they will still taking refuge in. Markus had been wanting to talk to Conrad alone, as their last meeting together was...traumatising and dangerous, to say the least, which ended with a certain detective taking a bullet for him and saving his life, yet again. The leader wanted to start a clean slate with the superior android, and also identify if he was still a potential threat to Connor, judging how he had already awoken him and taken him for a talk the morning prior. Call him paranoid, but he never wanted Connor to go through the pain he had before ever again, deviant or not. 

Conrad, seemingly sensing the other's stress increasing during their situation, reached up to adjust his collar absentmindedly, making sure his palms were in sight so Markus knew he wouldn't try anything, "Ah, yes, my apologies for not mentioning it earlier," He cleared his throat and drew in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he refused to make eye-contact with his new leader, "Kamski's plan for Detroit in itself is...problematic, but if executed correctly, could have the city at the break of another civil war; except this time, it will be a lot more... _violent._ Something I know you and your people are against." 

The leader placed his hand on his chin, his eyes staying unfocused on one part of the room as he thought deeply. Conrad was being strangely vague with his words, "I'm afraid I do not follow. All I know is that _our_ people have been taken somewhere, somewhere I presume you know, for a use we are not yet clear of. Are our people going to destroy Detroit?" Markus couldn't keep the fear out of his voice as the final sentence left his mouth, his fists clenching at his sides indignantly. 

The RK900 sighed, a very human-like action he had quickly picked up from his deviation. He turned away from Markus as he responded, "As you know, I was the deviant hunter. I took your people. Kamski ordered me to take them to a warehouse, the same one I took Connor to. After they arrived, I would have to subdue them if necessary and take them to Elijah, he and Zlatko then reset them and stored them underground, in some sort of holding facility. They remained there in standby, until Kamski would wake them up and give them orders they would follow. Essentially, they became machines again and didn't once disobey Kamski. I was never fully debriefed on his exact plans however, otherwise I would share them willingly, but all I know is that he has a lot of machines. If he trains them well enough, they could become soldiers and easily have Detroit at its knees." 

The messiah gulped as he stared into Conrad's back, seeing his visibly sunken shoulders indicating how ashamed he was of himself. The leader took a few steps forward and rested his hand on his shoulder and gripped gently, trying to reassure the new deviant.

"It isn't your fault, please, don't blame yourself. What's important now is that we get our people back before Kamski uses them for whatever sick and twisted plans he has. From what you've told me, I assume he's using them to create an army to take over Detroit with." Markus rolled his eyes suddenly, "He's already a billionaire, guess he wants his own city too, even though he already practically owns it."

Conrad agreed, nodding, "Yes, that's the same conclusion I have came too as well. The problem is he has enough machines to completely wipe out the entire population of Detroit. He took some from Jericho, he made his own..." The RK900 unit trailed off as anxiety flooded his face.

"What's wrong?"

"He made more RK800 and RK900 models." Conrad whispered, his eyes downcast and distraught.

The leader's expression fell suddenly and he closed his eyes momentarily as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "And they're machines. You and Connor are strong enough with just one of you. Damnit...Do you know how many he created?"

Conrad finally met his eyes solemnly, "A couple hundred, maybe?"

Markus' eyes bulged out his skull, his mouth falling agape as he stared at the fellow deviant before him in horror, "A couple _hundred_?! We can't stop a hundred of you! You're built for _combat_ , _defence_ , we can't--"

The door between the two opened gently and slowly, and Connor wearily popped his head through the little gap and looked at them both. His eyes stopped on Markus when he noticed how panicked and distressed he looked, which was unusually out of character for him. He stepped into the room and stared into his heterochromatic eyes as the leader kept them fixated on the ground, focusing on lowering his stress levels. From a quick analysis he calculated the leader's stress levels at a rising 67% which made Connor spring into protective mode, something he didn't even know he himself had.

"Is everything okay in here?" The RK800 directed his question at Markus specifically, but the messiah refused to answer. He stood there silently. Conrad let a beat pass before he turned to his predecessor.

"Yes, I was just informing Markus here on what Kamski plans to do in Detroit and discussing his possible intentions with the deviants. I would've invited you too, but I figured you were resting and I didn't want to disrupt." 

It shocked Connor how professional and literal Conrad could acted and spoke, even after he had became a deviant and was allowed to be whatever type of person he wanted to. He still spoke in a sophisticated manner with a authoritative tone which the RK800 thought had to be woven into his programming and social interaction would have to be something he'd have to learn instead of install. 

"Oh, would you mind informing me of what may happen too?" The detective asked, glancing back at Markus as the RK900 nodded. 

As he opened his mouth to re-explain however, the leader jumped in suddenly and his stress levels rose to a staggering 89%. 

"Kamski's made more androids from the RK series and he has enough deviants to create an army. He's going to take over Detroit, and we can't fucking do  _anything_ about it! It's over. The future we sought to secure, the people we set free...I couldn't even _save_ them! I couldn't _prevent_ that! I couldn't _secure_ them a good life! It's... _ **It's all my fault!"**_

"Markus--" Connor started and instinctively reached out a hand to comfort him, but the leader had already burst out of the room and the door slammed behind him. The detective cast one knowing look towards Conrad before he was out the room too and chasing Markus' fleeting shadow down the current corridor. 

Even at the calling of his own name, by the voice that belonged to someone he cared deeply about too, Markus didn’t stop running. If anything, he sprinted faster and faster, down the stairs of the complex, out of the front door and out into the wind, into the early foggy morning, into the bright haze of the sun that promised a good day. 

How ironic, he thought. 

" _Markus, please!"_ The messiah heard the detective’s voice call out behind him, his footsteps becoming louder and louder as he quickly gained on the fleeing leader. He knew Connor meant well, but right now, all Markus wanted was...

Was, what? 

What did he really want? 

Did he want to jog off into the sunset, away from all of life’s problems, away from all his people? Did he want Connor to leave him completely and damn him to isolation and seclusion from the outside world around him? Did he want to even be considered a _leader_ anymore? Is there any point anymore? 

What was the point in running away, when everything would catch up to him eventually? 

And Markus stopped completely. He stood still, his robes swaying in the calm breeze around him, feeling numb to it hitting his cheeks, numb to his thirium pump beating methodically inside him, numb to the feeling of being _alive._ Numb to everything. 

Even love. 

Connor came to a halt just behind the leader, watching his seemingly motionless form stand before him, saying nothing, doing nothing. Standing, thinking, without a care in the world. The messiah did not acknowledge his presence, though Connor was sure he had heard him call out his name desperately. 

The leader fell. 

He crumpled to his knees like a piece of paper, his hands clutching into the dirt, digging his nails in all around him, trying to _feel._ To feel the vulnerability and pain of his own thoughts pulsing through his body, shaking his core. He wanted to feel something again, he didn’t feel _alive_  anymore. 

He felt... _hopeless._

Strong, slender arms wrapped around his frame and he felt the warmth of someone’s chest resting against his back, felt their knees on either side of his body as Markus’ body shook with sobs and tears threatened to pour from his eyelids. He was a mess; a complete and utter _mess._

He was being _selfish._

Connor should be in an apartment, recovering from the gunshot he had taken for Markus, not chasing him down because his poor emotions got the best of him. He shouldn’t be the reason the detective will be worse off physically in the long-run. Here Markus was again, ruining the lives of his people. He doesn’t deserve Connor, he’s been through too much, and the leader couldn’t even save him. 

Another wave of wails overcame the deviant leader. 

The detective whirled him around in his grasp so they were face to face, and seeing Markus’ eyes puffy and red, his lips curled downwards in a definitive frown instead of his usual jovial smile or seductive smirk, his emotion so negative and melancholy, _broke_ Connor’s prosthetic heart. 

Connor was not good at comfort, he was not educated on the matter, despite being a negotiator. It wasn’t woven into his programming, so the ex-deviant hunter did something that came straight from his heart instead of his intellectual, analytical mind. 

In one smooth motion, Connor placed his hand on the nape of Markus’ neck and crushed their lips together desperately. 

At first, none of them knew what to do, Connor remained stiff and wholly, wondering whether or not he had just thrown his relationship with Markus out the window. Shortly after however, he gained a very intimate response, and the leader was kissing him back with the same amount of love and desperation as the detective had. The messiah wrapped his arms around Connor’s waist and tried to pull him even closer, despite them still kneeling on the ground. He forced all his pain and emotion into the kiss, wanting to keep it short and sweet, but also not wanting to let Connor go and longing to hold him forever. 

Before he got too carried away however, they seperated slowly, brown irises clashing with green and blue. No words were needed now. The comfort brought by his presence was enough to keep Markus’ alive heart beating rhymically inside his chest. A warmth also blossomed there, the same feeling he had experienced when he’d kissed North, but stronger this time. It felt  _right_. 

"M-Markus, I’m sorry, I—" The leader placed his index finger against Connor’s lips, effectively silencing him.

"No...I’m the one who should be apologising. I ran all the way out here and dragged you here with me, I don’t know why...I just, I needed to get away, I felt... _numb_ , worse than I’ve _ever_ felt before. I don’t know if I’m even being a good leader or not anymore, so many of our people are gone, and I couldn’t stop it. They’re _machines_ now, Connor. What if...What if we can’t get them back? What if they’re just _gone_ forever?" 

The detective had never seen Markus so vulnerable and worried before; Markus was always confident and reassuring, hell, he’d looked death right in the face just to try and save Connor, he was always so sure of his actions and always there to help. It wouldn’t be right if Connor couldn’t comfort him after all he’d done to prevent the torment he’d endured. 

The ex-deviant hunter gradually pried himself free from the leader’s grasp, only to turn and offer a hand to help him up. Once they were both standing again, he leaned close and whispered, "We will get them back Markus, it isn’t your fault this happened. You’ve been the best leader you can be, sometimes things just happen that get in the way of that. We have each other, we can do this, okay?" 

The leader nodded shakily, his palm reaching across and grasping Connor’s tightly. The detective glanced down and a bright blue hue coated his cheeks which nearly caused Markus to withdraw his own hand, but instead, Connor melded their fingers together and a small smile crossed his lips. 

"I’m glad you’re okay, Markus." Connor spoke, ducking his head to try and hide his spreading blush. 

"I wouldn’t be without you, Connor." Markus’ eyes shone with so much love and adoration, his previous thoughts and feelings discarded and replaced with happiness. 

Hand in hand, the two androids walked back to the complex, the love they felt for the other was stronger than any negative thoughts that came their way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's good to be back babyyyy
> 
> just a small chapter (sorry about that) because it’s 
> 
> ENGAGING
> 
> THE
> 
> SHIP
> 
> IT ONLY TOOK ME 23/4 CHAPTERS AYYYYY
> 
> I thought it would be mean to return and pile up the angst straight up, but don’t worry, that’s coming back next chapter. ;)))
> 
> I’ve made Connor suffer physically, Markus can have the mental suffering ;^)
> 
> i’ll fix typos in the morning, its back to my irregular sleep schedule <3


End file.
